


Ghostwood Girl

by BlackLodgeAgenda



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twin Peaks
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-06 13:51:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 45,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4224102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackLodgeAgenda/pseuds/BlackLodgeAgenda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura Palmer is resurrected (after the events of the show) to protect her hometown as the Slayer from a Hellmouth that opens beneath Twin Peaks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trial by Fire

GHOSTWOOD GIRL: TRIAL BY FIRE 

 

The light shone upon her face from the most glorious figure she had ever seen filling the chevron patterned hell with beauty and joy for a few final moments before it faded out of existence. Laura Palmer’s salvation had come and gone.  
What did she do to deserve this tease? Her tears of joy dried on her face burning with anger. She looked up and screamed, collapsing onto her knees. Laura’s nails dug into her clenched fists, hot blood running from her palms, She thought, who decides to condemn me like this? Surely, no God would deny her death.  
The man from her dreams walked over and kneeled beside Laura. He leaned close and at first she thought he was going to kiss her. Men always wanted to touch her, but he didn’t.  
The Agent whispered in her ear,”This isn’t it for you. You’re the Slayer. You’ve been given a second chance because the world needs you.”  
The world doesn't need me, Laura thought. What good was there even left to protect in Twin Peaks? She let out another shout and ran sobbing from the room. The Agent shouted after her-- “Don’t let him hurt Annie!” but she let the thick red curtains fall between them, leaving her, again in darkness.  
Laura blinked and saw heavy red satin inches from her face. She tried to sit up but she was trapped, her arms confined at her sides. Her breathing became heavy and ragged as she realized her worst nightmare had come true--not only was she back in this hell on earth, but once again she’s perfect little Laura Palmer, six feet under ground.  
She wasn’t sure if it was minutes or hours or days, but after some time she heard a scratching on the top of the coffin. Suddenly a massive dread seeped into Laura’s chest as she realized--it could be him. He’ll be back for her soon, regardless. Laura began to scream and scream… She had thought she was free. “Why can’t you just leave me alone!” Laura shouted, tears streaming down her face, ruining her burial makeup. But then, the top of the casket swung open, and the light of day blinded her. As her eyes adjusted Laura saw a familiar face.  
“Welcome back,” Margaret said as she tossed her shovel to the side and offered her a hand. “I thought our paths would never cross again.”  
Laura shuddered away, flinching like an animal. “H-how? Why? How did you know?”  
“My log tells me many things. Now get out of that casket, there is much to be done.” Again Margaret gestured at Laura to take her hand. Hesitantly, Laura grasped it, and the Log Lady helped her up to the surface. 

Margaret and Laura sat outside her cabin, she holding her log in her rocking chair and Laura on the porch, covered in a blanket and sipping some tea. Apparently a lot had happened since BOB had killed Laura. She told her all about the Agent, the man from her dreams. He came into town the day they found her, and the town hasn’t been the same since his arrival. From what Margaret said it sounded like everyone went crazy after she died. If only everyone had paid such close attention when she was alive, maybe none of this would have ever happened. Maybe, maybe, maybe.  
Finally Laura looked Margaret straight in the eyes and asked, “He never went away, did he? Not after everything?”  
Margaret shook her head slowly and looked to her log. “The darkness is still there, always, just beyond the treeline. Many have tried to cleanse the forest, but the spirits still have their way with us in Twin Peaks, moving us around and tearing us apart like little paper dolls.”  
Laura looked at the wilderness beyond the stoop, awash with the glow of moonlight. “The Agent, he said that I was needed here, that I was a Slayer. Does that mean anything to you?”  
Margaret patted her hand and smiled, though the Log Lady’s eyes remained as clear and dark as the night sky. “You have been fighting for so long Laura. Did it really never occur to you that you were a fighter? There are people in this world that were placed here to combat the darkness, to beat it back into the Other Place. And there are some people who have the responsibility to oversee those who fight. I am a Watcher--your Watcher.”  
“But I’m tired of fighting! I’ve been hurt my whole life, and in death I finally escaped--there was no hurt, no BOB, no nothing. Nothing but angels. And then I’m ripped back into this hell?! I didn’t ask for this!”  
Margaret sighed. “That is of no matter. This is you, Laura. You are needed.”  
Laura began to cry. Already the hurt was returning. Margaret leaned forward. “You are more powerful than you know. More powerful than him. You can defeat him, you can stop him from hurting little girls like you.”  
Laura sniffed, and looked at her, as a cold wind blew the woods. "It’s always up to me, isn’t it?”  
“It was always up to you. You’re Laura Palmer... Once this kind of fire starts it is very difficult to put out, but you're the only one who can. You know BOB better than anyone.”  
Laura nodded. “I’ll do it. For the Agent. He doesn’t belong in the Lodge, not yet... By the way, who is Annie?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura awoke to the sound of a rapid gentle knocking on the upstairs guest bedroom door.  
"Get up! Get up!" Margaret crooned, "The birds are singing so should we!"  
She rolled over and looked at the rooster-themed clock on the night stand. 6:15. That's earlier than she even got up for school.  
The idea of school made her think of Donna. It's Sunday so she was probably preparing for church with her parents right now. She was probably wearing her gold stud earrings and braiding her hair. Laura wanted sorely to call her but her brain might hemorrhage at the news.  
Apparently over the notion of knocking politely, Margaret burst open the door and rushed in to open the drapes.  
Outside, the sun had barely risen but a thick mist hung around the evergreens. The mist swirled slowly as though it too were making its first movements of the day. The way the sun struck the mist made it a mystical orange color. Twin Peaks really was a beautiful area in the daylight.  
"Laura, are you listening to me? There's much to be done today. Breakfast is getting cold. Let's go!"  
And with that she ripped the patchwork quilt right off of Laura, who shivered as Margaret handed her a change of clothes.  
Margaret scuttled out of the room and shouted as she was halfway down the stairs,"You better be down here in ten minutes or I'll feed your breakfast to the birds!"  
Laura’s legs felt heavy as she lifted them from bed. There was a soreness deep in her joints that would probably linger for a while. Turns out, being dead for a few months can make your body a little stiff.  
She walked over to the armoire with the mirror on top and let the loaned pastel yellow nightie fall to the ground. Scars and bruises from the night of her death still littered her legs, ribs, and back. It's a good thing I'm a quick healer, Laura thought. The physical reminder of her emotional trauma was the most painful part.  
She unfolded and put on the clothes Margaret had handed her. Perfectly fitting black jeans and a red tank top. There's no way these were Margaret's size so she must have went out and bought them when Laura was sleeping. The thought was touching.  
Laura lumbered out the door and down the rickety wooden stairs when she was struck by the most overwhelming smell of food. Apparently, being dead also makes one very hungry and Mrs. Lanterman had prepared quite the spread.  
"There's eggs and toast. I can make bacon if you want it but it doesn't agree with my stomach. I just finished making pancakes so you should eat them hot. You can drink tea or coffee. No juice."  
Laura smiled, for probably the first time since she had rejoined the living.  
"Coffee, please. Black with one sugar."  
Margaret brought her an orange mug as she sat down. Laura stirred in the sugar and asked, "Don't you ever sleep, Mrs. Lanterman?"  
"As I laid in bed, dark clouds circled overhead, child. I'm sure you know plenty of nightmares yourself," she replied in that same matter-of-fact way she does anything else.  
As they finished their meal Laura could hear the robins singing that Margaret had mentioned earlier. She thought, this life is going to be as strange as her last but maybe she had a chance to change things. This time Laura would have someone on her side.  
"Your daydreams won't get you anywhere, dear. Follow me out to the porch. We're going to start with some sun salutations."  
Laura sighed. "Do you think I could have a quick cigarette first?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After yoga, Laura had begun to feel the disconnect between her consciousness and her physical body fade. Life surged through her veins again and it was her life.  
But more than that this body would be strong. She would hone it into a well-tuned instrument of revenge.  
Then, as though nature itself was responding to Laura’s thoughts of malice a cold gust shot through the trees and a wolf howled in the distance. Lightning sprawled across the sky as it began to softly rain.  
Margaret looked skyward then whispered, "Rain is the baptism of the planet. Sweat is the baptism of the body."  
Laura pulled her damp hair away from her face.  
"I'm more of a trial by fire kind of girl,” she said as she stared down the punching bag hanging from the Douglas Fir in Margaret’s front yard.  
Margaret patted her log and shared a private laugh with it.  
Laura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She’s the wolf. Not a victim, I’m the Slayer, she thought. Exhaling, she opened her eyes.  
"Let's rock."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re getting stronger. Like a broken bone that heals to iron. But you must know all before you’re ready.” Margaret and Laura sat in her kitchen, sipping on black coffee, eating breakfast, and listening to the radio.  
“More? There’s more? Jesus, what else don’t I know about?!” Laura had finally wrapped her head around this Slayer business and now there’s even more secrets. Secrets upon secrets.  
“You didn’t really think that he was the only one of his kind, did you? Evil comes in many forms and degrees, child, and yes, he is the biggest and the baddest. But of course he has children to do his bidding. Those without souls, those who take life like breathing. You must keep them at bay as well.”  
Laura sighed, and looked out the window into the forest just outside. “Why do you think they come here? Why Twin Peaks? Why me?”  
Margaret patted her log and nodded, then placed her hand on Laura’s shoulder. “Twin Peaks is all you’ve ever known, so it is home, it is comfort. But beneath this town a war is waging, right under our feet and in our souls. Twin Peaks is a battleground Laura, and right now the blackness is winning.”  
Laura shrugged her hand away and stared down into the runny eggs and greasy bacon. How Laura wished she could go down to the Double R and see Donna, and James, even Shelley and Norma. But they’re the ones she has to protect, they’re the people she’s responsible for.  
“Okay,” Laura grumbled. "So what are we talking here, Dracula? The Creature from the Black Lagoon?”  
Margaret cut a glance at her log and then back at Laura. “One mustn’t joke about such things. Of course there’s no such thing as the Creature from the Black Lagoon. But on the other account… You’re not exactly wrong.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura tossed and turned that night. Sleep would not come. Adjusting to a clearly supernatural world left her feeling restless. Now ghoulies had it out for everyone, not just her.  
Just as well that she couldn't sleep, Laura thought as she climbed from bed, the stillness of night was an old friend.  
She slipped into her jeans from earlier that day and slinked quietly downstairs to nick an oversized black flannel from the dryer. Laura rolled up the sleeves. It would do.  
Her stomach growled and she stumbled into the kitchen. Laura was sure Margaret didn't mind her helping herself to a little leftover roast in the fridge. As Laura nibbled on the soft salty roast, she could hear Margaret snoring violently upstairs. Laura needed someone to talk to. Someone who might understand her. And tonight it wouldn't be Margaret.  
Laura left her plate in the sink and picked up at notepad from the counter. She folded back the page that Margaret was writing her grocery list on and began writing in her neatest cursive:

Meet me at the Roadhouse. 8 AM. Please bring back any of my stuff you have.  
-L. P.  
P. S. I promise it won't be like last time when you threw up in the back of that guy's car. 

Laura folded the note and put it in her back pocket along with her cigarettes and lighter. She found a small backpack laying by the boots Margaret had gotten her in the coat closet and put them both on.  
Laura expected some challenge lacing boots in the dark but the night sky was remarkably luminous. It seemed as though each star was shining just a little brighter than usual. "Light the way,” she whispered, and stepped outside.  
Picking up her axe from the porch, she strapped it to her waist. She had a lot of bonding to do with that little axe. It would be a long walk down the mountain path to the heart of Twin Peaks.  
She lit a cigarette and started the descent.  
Laura hadn't walked long when she heard voices in the distance. Her body tensed up. Twin Peaks didn't get many tourists.  
She sneaked slowly toward the sounds down a thin path in the woods. As she got closer she could make out the glow of a distant campfire.  
The path ended in a fork marked by a sign. It read: 

Blackbird Creek Campgrounds LEFT  
Blackbird Creek Recreation and Visitor's Center RIGHT  
These were the campgrounds where Sheriff Truman and Deputy Hawk would take the boy scouts camping in the summer time. Laura had been there once when Johnny Horne had a meltdown during the trip and Dr. Jacobi called her for help calming him down.  
As she continued down the path, Laura could begin to make out voices over the crackling fire.  
"We gotta feed soon or we'll die," urged a raspy voice.  
A deep voice answered,"We're already dead. Plus boss wants us here. Surround the town and watch the fires until they find her."  
"Shouldn't we be at the grove?"  
"The Grove is way out of our league. But soon we'll have our way with this whole place."  
Only two. It was now or never. Laura stepped out from behind the trees.  
"Did I hear you boys were... hungry?," she cooed.  
The men glanced at each other and then locked eyes with her. Except now their eyes were large, yellow, and cat-like, glowing with malice. Their brow ridge took on an unnaturally broad appearance as they stood up.  
The leader stepped toward her and Laura grabbed him by the collar.  
"You're gonna have to try harder than that if you wanna light my fire," she whispered in his ear as he tried to break her hold.  
Laura pushed him backwards and the collaborative momentum of him pulling back and her pushing him sent him flying onto the campfire. He turned to dust in an instant.  
Round two. This one looked like a scrawny old man. Laura could take him. She pulled her axe from its sling. It was a simple axe but it would do some damage.  
The smooth handle felt natural in her hand now that she had trained a little with Margaret.  
Laura swung the axe vertically in his direction and caught the side of his hip. He lost balance and fell over. The axe was caught in his hip bone, shattering it. Now he wasn't any real threat.  
She took a deep breath and prepared for the kill as the vampire writhed in pain below her. It took a few strikes to actually decapitate him. It was pretty gruesome. Laura had to keep reminding herself that these things were evil and they belonged dead.  
As Laura started walking again towards Twin Peaks, she couldn't help but wonder did she also belong dead?  
It was just a few hours from daybreak when Laura reached the corner of Church Lane and Owl Street. The Hayward house was in view. As she stepped into the yard, she almost started weeping. Laura really needed Donna to understand her situation. Laura needed her on her side. She hoped this would work.  
Laura climbed up the side of the porch and up onto the awning next to Donna's bedroom. She grabbed the note from her pocket and wedged it under the windowsill. Laura had to force herself to not just crawl in to make sure Donna was still there. That she still existed.  
If something had happened to Donna because of Laura she wouldn't be able to handle it.  
Laura climbed down off the roof and mentally readied herself for an even harder sight.  
Going home.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura’s childhood home looked ominous in the gray light before dawn. It's darkened windows looked like hollow eyes watching her return as if to say,"You always come back."  
She grimaced and sighed in reply. She climbed the trellis to her window and slowly slid it open. The trellis was usually covered with ivy but her Mom probably finally gave up on yard work. Poor thing. Laura wished she could tell her mother she was alright but it was already a huge risk telling Donna.  
I was here for my things, Laura reminded herself. That's all.  
She closed the window behind her.  
The room was almost like she had left it but it looked really clean. Too clean. Almost empty.  
Laura carefully pulled open the closet door. Everything was still there.  
Now that she was looking at my wardrobe she wasn't really sure what to take. A little of everything would do but she would need to leave some stuff behind so nobody would get suspicious.  
Laura stuffed her backpack with skirts, dresses, blouses, and jeans. She also needed some boots and sneakers, a simple pair of heels, and my navy blue flats. As for tops she took her hooded sweatshirts, cardigans, t-shirts, and sweaters.  
By the time Laura was done nearly half the closet was in her bag. It felt like she was taking back her identity. Laura found great solace in going through those things. She changed outfits several times trying to decide what the new Laura would look like. She settled into an old favorite.  
At the back of the closet Laura found a floor length black hooded cloak she had worn as part of a Halloween costume years ago. It brought back memories of happier times. What she wouldn't do to go back and tell 15 year-old Laura what she knew now...  
Laura put it on. It would work nicely for her late night rendezvous with the undead. Underneath she wore a plaid skirt and lavender turtleneck she wore the day of the picnic last year.  
After taking a few more essentials like her underclothes, some socks, lingerie, her makeup bag, and toothbrush. Laura plopped onto her bed for what she was sure would be the last time. Laura closed her eyes for just a second. 

 

She was in the Lodge again.  
It was the red room with chairs this time. She instinctively took a seat.  
Shadows reflected across the red curtains and disappeared. Footsteps could be heard first walking and then running from the adjoining rooms.  
From behind her Laura heard new softer footsteps and the curtains parted to reveal her cousin, Maddy Ferguson.  
They were wearing the same black dress and owl clasp, and had never looked more eerily identical than now.  
She sat down in the chair next to Laura. When Maddy spoke her voice sounded distorted but Laura could somehow understand.  
"Is he still out there? Have you seen him yet?"  
She looked both ways like she was watching out for someone.  
"Who?” Laura replied.  
Maddy didn't hear or ignored her otherwise.  
"There's someone who's been waiting for you."  
From the other corner of the room, the curtains parted again. This time Teresa Banks burst into the room.  
She looked around the room frantically and began grasping at her neck like all the air was being sucked from her lungs.  
She managed to gasp out," THE... SLAYER...CAN. DIE."  
And she fell to the floor in a slump. A tall figure paced outside the room.  
Maddy looked calm. She acted as though this wasn’t happening or was meant to happen which frightened Laura even more.  
Maddy turned to Laura and said, "Gather or perish."  
Teresa's body turned a dusty grey and decayed rapidly leaving only her ring behind. Maddy snapped her fingers and they both disappeared.  
Laura awoke gasping for my own breath. How long had she been asleep?  
The sun was just barely up. She grabbed her bag and headed out to the Roadhouse.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura watched from the bank of evergreens across the parking lot from the Roadhouse as Donna’s car came into view from the winding road. Her gaze roamed the lot as she neared the door, and she approached timidly, like a frightened animal. She entered the bar, and Laura followed close behind, her hood covering her face.  
The bar was completely empty save for the bartender, who was busy stocking the liquor. He called to Laura a quick hello, but didn’t linger on her appearance--the best case scenario. She didn’t want her resurrection to be barfly gossip just yet. Donna headed to the back of the bar for some privacy. This secluded little corner would do nicely. She sat, nervously picking at her fingernails. Laura watched her from behind a log pillar, and she could feel her heart racing. Would Donna understand? Would it be foolish to even think that things could be the same? Laura had to take the chance. She couldn’t live this new life alone.  
As Laura approached, Donna’s eyes grew wide. “Oh my god…” Laura sat across the table from her and pulled back the hood of her anorak.  
Donna flinched, visibly, her eyes going glassy with emotion. “But… We buried you. Laura, we put you in the ground.”  
“Trust me,” Laura chuckled nervously. “I hadn’t planned on making a return trip.” Donna’s face told her this wasn’t the time for levity. Laura cleared her throat. “I was in… Another place.”  
“A better place?” Donna mumbled softly, hopefully.  
“No. Well, better than here.”  
Donna’s face fell. “What happened Laura.” It wasn’t a question, but a command. She deserved to know everything.  
“I was killed by the man--the thing--that would torment me, torture me. He finally won. But I was with the angels, Donna, my angels! Finally he couldn’t touch me anymore. But then… I woke up.”  
“Just like that?” Donna asked. All the blood had drained from her face.  
"Yeah, I'm not really sure what happened, actually." Laura trailed off. “I do remember one thing--Agent Cooper was there, I feel like he pushed me out of the Other Place. I think he was trying to save me, so I could save everyone. But one minute I was in the ground and the next minute the Log Lady was pulling me out of my grave. It's a part of some big prophecy or something."  
Donna lifted her head and made eye contact with Laura for the first time since she had started getting emotional. "But what's Margaret Lanterman have to do with all this? What're you supposed to be saving us from?"  
She was starting to get a handle on the situation.  
“Donna, you know what it’s like in Twin Peaks. Everyone knows. There’s a darkness in the woods, in hearts of the people, something that crawls inside us and makes us rotten. You may not want to admit it but this town isn’t like other places. And Donna, it’s because we’re the middle ground, the battlefield between good and evil. The Other Place, that’s where good and evil live. And I think I’m on the side of the angels now.”  
“You? An angel?” Donna raised an eyebrow.  
Laura tried again. "Not like the pretty benevolent ones in the pages of books. I'm an angel of war. Of blood and death and iron. They call me the Slayer. I know a lot of what goes on in this town and I came back with the power to stop it. Or at least, that's the idea."  
“So… You were killed by an evil spirit and now you’ve been resurrected by a rogue FBI agent to protect Twin Peaks from the forces of darkness?” Donna scoffed.  
Laura grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, pretty much.”  
“Hell, I’d believe anything I’m just glad to have my best friend back. I thought I’d never speak to you again! Everything’s gone to hell since you left, Laura. It’s gotten real bad.” Donna gasped as she remembered. “Oh Laura, your dad--”  
Laura held up a hand. “It’s okay. I know everything. He… wasn’t himself.” She drifted off for a moment, until Donna said her name. “Margaret’s told me, everything has gone to shit. And I think that’s why I’ve been brought back. This town has been overrun by monsters and demons and assholes, all working for BOB. Now we just hack and slash our way through the ranks, until we reach the boss battle. Only then can Twin Peaks be safe.”  
Donna was quiet for a moment. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”  
Laura lit up and blew a puff of smoke. “Like a heart attack.”  
Donna bit her lip as she looked for the bartender. She waved to him,"Jeff, do you still have that old espresso machine in the back? We're gonna need some strong coffee if we wanna get through today."  
He answered,"Yeah sure."  
Laura piped up and said “I’ll take mine black as midnight on a moonless night.”  
“Since when?” Donna asked.  
“I don’t know… It just seems natural.”  
"Sweet but dark with an edge of bitter. It suits you. But I'd like mine to be about half cream, please. Like a breve, if your steamer is working."

A few cups in, Donna broached the subject again. “So, what exactly are you supposed to be fighting anyway? Spirits? Monsters?”  
Laura swallowed a gulp of coffee and set the cup down. “Well, for now the monster of the week seems to be vampires, according to Margaret.”  
Donna laughed. “You’re kidding me. Seriously? Like a creature feature?”  
Laura looked at her reflection in the cup and sighed,"Evil comes in many forms..."  
“So these Dracula types, they have the fangs and creature of the night charm?”  
“They can look like anyone, really,” Laura said, “until they get real ugly. But yeah, fangs, no reflection, can’t survive in sunlight. You know the drill.”  
Donna went quiet. Her discomfort hung over the table like a dark cloud.  
Laura continued,"You probably should lock your doors and stay off the streets at night."  
Donna looked out the window a minute, pausing to gather herself.  
"Laura, I wanna help you. I've seen so many people get hurt and I just let you die. Even though I knew you were in trouble, I didn't do anything to really stop it. I'm not going to let that happen again... Is there anything I can do?"  
Laura smiled, my eyes downcast, then reached over the table and hugged her best friend again, but for what felt like the first time. “I’m going to need all the help I can get.”  
Donna took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you. Something I never planned on happening but that you deserve to hear from me."  
Laura’s back stiffened as her mind filled with thoughts of the trouble Donna could get into during my absence. She silently prayed Donna hadn't followed in her footsteps very closely, it's not where Donna belonged.  
“While you were… gone, I, uh, James and I--”  
Laura burst out laughing. “Oh my god Donna, really? That’s it?”  
“I just--we just needed each other. Without you, neither of us knew where to go…”  
“Donna, while I’m flattered you would think of me as you stole my boyfriend when I was beyond the grave, don’t worry about it. James and I… He was just a boy, just a distraction. I’m just glad somebody kept him warm while I was gone.”  
“Laura!” Donna laughed.  
“I’m kidding. Kind of.”  
"Actually there's a reason I brought it up. James sent me this postcard two days ago. It doesn't make any sense and I'm a little worried," she said as she procured the a neon postcard from her back pocket that read Las Vegas across the front.  
Laura took the postcard and read the messy scribbled script on the back: “Donna, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t sleep. I told you I wouldn't come back until I knew I was the man I wanted to be, but I only feel more lost than ever. See you soon, if I’m lucky, James.”  
Laura sighed. “Sounds like typical James. So dramatic. So romantic.”  
Donna frowned. “You don’t think it’s weird? What the hell is it supposed to mean? Last week he said he was looking forward to driving across Texas so what's changed?”  
Laura shrugged. “I guess we’ll see when he gets back, which by the date on the card should be any day now. Besides, aren’t you excited to get a little bit of action?”  
“I see death hasn’t killed your libido.” Donna rolled her eyes.  
“Are you kidding me? This is Laura Palmer you’re talking to, I still have a taste for the finer things in life.”  
She smiled. "I promised my parents I'd take my sister to her dance recital. If you need a ride anywhere I can take you first though. Oh, and I brought you your sunglasses back."  
“Thanks. I should get back to Margaret’s place. She’s probably talking shit about me to that damn log.”

Margaret was sitting at the kitchen table knitting when Laura came through the door.  
“So how was Donna?” she asked absentmindedly.  
Laura groaned. “Fine, I told her all my darkest secrets, just like you told me not to.”  
“Requesting is not the same as accepting, child. You must reach out for a familiar hand, and mine is not enough. Friends are the only perfect silence in a world full of horrid noise.”  
Laura smiled, pulled out a chair, and helped Margaret unspool her yarn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The Red Room was empty save for Laura, though she saw figures pacing, dancing behind the curtains. She heard the tinkling laugh of a young woman, seemingly far away, outside her grasp. There were statues in each corner, classical. But instead of the traditional white stone these were black, their faces twisted into masks of rage, horror, pain. Laura noticed a small stream of clear liquid seeping toward her from under the curtain, and turned to find Agent Cooper sitting in the chair beside her. He heard the woman laughing too, like the delicate tune of a music box, and for a moment seemed very sad. Then he turned to Laura, and she smiled, and he smiled, and for a moment she forgot where she was--she forgot the danger. Laura felt safe.  
He turned his gaze toward the liquid quickly approaching his shoes, and his expression turned dark, perturbed. He turned and looked her in the face with an urgent seriousness, and said “Laura Palmer. One must know the difference between a ghost and a devil.”  
The liquid reached his feet and suddenly he was engulfed in flames. The fire wasn’t the natural orange, but blood red, crimson. Laura recoiled from his flaming figure, screaming, wanting to reach out to help him but she knew she could never save him. This was beyond even the Slayer.  
The fire disappeared as quickly as it had devoured him, and he seemed once again to appear normal. The puddle below him receded, slithering backwards along its path beneath the red curtains, which fluttered.  
His gaze was downturned, and Laura reached out toward his face, cupping his chin and pulling it up to look him in the eye. When he looked up she screamed, for it wasn’t Dale’s face, her Agent’s face, but BOB’s. He was laughing, laughing in her face, reaching towards her with his gnarled hands, his dirty fingernails catching on her blouse. Laura could feel his spittle on her face as he whispered, “The dark makes all the difference, darling.”  
Laura woke up screaming.  
She rolled over. Her cries turning to tears.  
Outside, the wind blew rampant through the trees as though all the leaves on all the branches were blowing towards one focal point. It seemed like she was being drawn somewhere, along with all of Twin Peaks. The sound of the shutters smashing against the cabin kept her awake for a few more hours before finally sleep came again. 

Donna called early the next morning. “It’s all over town, Agent Cooper is finally getting out of the hospital, he’s been in there since the pageant.”  
“I know,” Laura mumbled, reminded of the dream from last night.  
“Sheriff Truman and Agent Cooper are calling a press conference tonight, to brief the town about what happened. And Laura so much has happened.”  
Laura rolled my eyes. “I know that better than anyone.” Something inside her knew something was wrong, that the dream was trying to tell her something. Laura’s dreams had always been trying to tell her something, but she had just recently started listening.  
“Uh, yeah, I guess so…” Donna muttered. “Anyway we should go, you incognito, of course. It’s at the Great Northern, at 6:30.”  
“See you there,” Laura said, and placed the phone on its cradle. “Margaret!” Laura shouted, “Do you have any wigs I could borrow?”  
“Of course,” she answered from a few feet behind Laura. “There is no need for shouting, the log dislikes loud noises.”  
Laura jumped and gasped. “Jesus! Do I need to put a bell on you? You almost killed me!”  
“Well it didn’t take the last time, child,” Margaret muttered as she began making her tea.

Laura met Donna outside the Great Northern that evening, sporting a huge curly red wig, too much makeup, and Margaret’s glasses--she certainly wouldn’t be happy when she woke from her nap. It was all Donna could do not to laugh in Laura’s face, but she reminded Donna that this was an undercover operation and should be taken seriously, which only made Donna laugh more.  
Inside the Great Northern conference hall, a large set of seats and a black podium bearing the Twin Peaks Police Department logo had been set up. The officials had already arrived but many of the townsfolk were still bustling about the lobby, too nervous to take a seat.  
This was clearly a big event to the sleepy town. Agent Dale Cooper had brought new life to the Twin Peaks, and after solving my murder as well as apprehending Windom Earle, he was considered a local hero. The town was anxious to have him back.  
Donna and Laura hung in the back towards the huge oak entrance doors, surveying the room. Audrey Horne was near the center of the large room, dressed smartly, like a business woman. She, like usual, was talking to no one. Instead she was scribbling some notes down on a clipboard. Poor Audrey, Laura thought. So beautiful, but so lonely, so eager to leave an impression, and always ready to stick her nose where it didn’t belong. They could have been friends, in another life, one where their fathers weren’t competing, weren’t trying so hard to hurt them. They had always had that in common.  
Wait, Laura thought, this is another life.  
Dale Cooper then walked through the entrance, though Laura couldn’t get a good look at him as he attempted to cut through the crowd quickly approached the podium. His back was to her when Audrey jumped in front of him, and Laura saw Audrey’s eyes get wide with flirtation and delight. Anyone could see she loved him.  
Audrey’s mouth was moving quickly as she tried to get his attention, flipping her hair and following him when he attempted to sidestep her. She continued smiling and posturing, but soon he grabbed her shoulders and stopped her. Laura didn’t know what he said to her but Audrey’s face fell, and confusion clouded her eyes. He then stepped away unceremoniously, leaving her frozen in place, her gaze unfocused. She looked back at him as he approached the podium, and shook her head slightly, as if in disbelief.  
When everyone finally sat down and stopped whispering to one another, Sheriff Truman stepped up to the podium. He had to wait a moment to begin as thunder echoed through the wood halls--there had been storms on and off all day.  
"Folks, please settle down. We're gathered here to celebrate good news and to talk about some of the changes in our town. I don't have a lot to say except that I'm glad to welcome back Agent Dale Cooper," he declared, stepping away from the podium and taking a seat to its right.  
Dale Cooper stepped forward, his movement oddly stilted.  
“Probably still recovering from the accident, or whatever it was,” Donna whispered to Laura.  
Laura furrowed her brow, and frowned. Something didn’t seem right. She had seen this man so many times in her dreams, and he was always so at ease, so kind. This person was different, harsher, sharper, somehow. His smile didn’t seem welcoming, rather like a wild animal baring its teeth, to intimidate, to show dominance. His eyes glowed, not with enthusiasm but with menace. He looked hungry.  
“People of Twin Peaks! I am so happy to be back in the land of the living,” he exclaimed, too eager, too enthusiastic. Everyone laughed at his joke, but Laura remained stonefaced. He slammed his hand against the podium and let out manufactured laughter. The knot in her gut tightened.  
“I cannot tell you what a thrill it is to be back on duty, protecting this great town. Recently, we have fallen victim to great traumas and tragedies. Of course, the Laura Palmer murder rocked the hearts of those living in this quiet town, and the perpetrator came as a shock to us all. Then, Windom Earle wreaked havoc on this community still in shock and mourning. Fortunately, Sheriff Truman and I with the help of Deputies Andy and Hawk, have restored peace by… removing that threat.”  
The crowd applauded and muttered approvingly.  
“However, as a member of the Bureau, I cannot sit idly as crime continues beneath our noses. We have lost too many citizens recently to too many senseless crimes. Any hiatus on my part would be irresponsible and inexcusable. I will be renting a cabin in town and looking into the potentially corrupt Deer Meadow Police Department and the disappearance of Agent Chet Desmond. If anyone knows of the whereabouts of Chet Desmond or any developments on the Teresa Banks murder that may have lead to his disappearance, please come forward to speak with either myself or Sheriff Truman. Thank you for your time. This meeting is adjourned."  
At that moment, while everyone began jostling and collecting their things, the man at the podium seemed to look straight at Laura. Her spine stiffened and her mouth went dry. His eyes were the same ones she had seen in her dream. She gasped, and put her hand to her mouth. His gaze turned hard and he smiled at her, a cold smile, the edges of his mouth turned upward at an unnatural angle. The image turned Laura’s insides, but his figure was soon obscured by the crowd.  
“One must know the difference between a ghost and a devil…” Laura muttered, breathless.  
“What?” Donna asked, but Laura quickly pulled her towards the door.  
“We have to go, now.”  
Lights flickered out in the hotel. The storm had cut the power.  
Everyone in the conference hall began to loudly complain, some with panic in their voice. Sheriff Truman’s voice boomed out over the crowd--”Everyone please remain calm! Let’s make our way toward the lobby--”  
He was cut off by a horrific screech, like that of an animal being slaughtered. The sound seemed to travel around the room, bouncing off the walls and encircling the crowd. Donna leaned in close to Laura, frightened. The lightning lit up Cooper's face ominously.  
He was still watching Laura.  
Suddenly, people--or perhaps those who were people once, but no longer--descended from the rafters. Their faces were grotesquely distorted, their eyes glowing yellow like an animal at night, their skin a sickly blue-grey in the moonlight. They hissed as they came nearer. The crowd stood stunned.  
“Oh, for the love of--RUN!” Laura screamed, and the townspeople broke into chaos, pushing and shoving toward the large open double doors. Many of them escaped into the parking lot, but soon two of the creatures sealed the entrance of the hotel. Audrey climbed onto a table in the corner and kicked at one of the things with her heels.  
Sheriff Truman on the stage reach for his gun, but a demon rushed at him, grabbed him by the torso, and threw him out a nearby window. Andy attempted to take the monster out, but was overwhelmed by its strength, and knocked out cold in seconds. Agent Cooper was no where to be seen. With Andy serving as a distraction, Hawk was able to shoot it several times in the head.  
“Headshot,” Laura said while pulling the axe out of her jacket. “Makes sense. That’s how they do it in the movies.”  
Donna screamed and suddenly all their eyes were on them. “Go! Take them up to the rooms!” Laura shouted at Donna, but she shivered unable to move, feebly holding her fists out in front of her. Instead, Audrey sprung into action. She barked at the crowd, "Follow me if you want to live! C’mon people! You want to be dinner tonight, or you want to make it to the morning? Move your asses!”  
As the room cleared lightning struck again, illuminating the pointed faces of the opposition. “I assume you boys didn’t come to hear the speech, so are we gonna fight, or what?”  
The only response was bared fangs and fierce lunging towards Donna and Laura.  
"Back to back, Donna. If you're staying, arm yourself!"  
She lifted a chair from behind her and put on her best war face, though Laura could still see the tears falling down her cheeks. That’s Donna, always going along with a bad influence.  
A claw grabbed for her ankle and Laura swung her axe for its skull. As Laura slipped, she hit the monster in the neck. It fell backward into the group. The one next to it, punched past her and at Donna's jawline. She cried out, swirling the chair into its side.  
As the foe was unbalanced, Laura dug her axe into the back of its head. It stuck and she twisted it sideways to leave its brains leaking across the floor.  
Laura’s arms ached. The next combatant took the opportunity to disarm her but she delivered a sharp kick to its torso. Her mind raced as she tried to remember the hand to hand combat techniques of Margaret’s training. But she was at a distinct disadvantage, as the monsters had claws. Big, sharp, claws. She spun around to Donna and grabbed the chair from her.  
“Hey!” Donna shouted.  
“Hold on!” Laura spat back. She slammed the chair into the ground and shattered it into wooden shards. She handed one to Donna, who looked back terrified. “Go for the eyes,” Laura shouted.  
She turned just in time to slash one of the demons across the face, blinding it. The thing staggered backwards, holding its face, bumping into Deputy Hawk, who was still fighting the horde. He spun and shot the creature in the back of the head. They made eye contact through the huge hole in the monster’s cranium. Laura smiled in thanks, and he gave a solemn nod before smashing the next monster's head into the wall.  
He looked tired. They were all wearing down but luckily had few enemies left. They made short work of the bastards, and soon they were covered in blackish blood standing over the corpses of nightmare monsters. They were all breathing heavily. Donna was almost hyperventilating. Laura looked at Hawk and between heaving breaths Laura managed to excuse herself to go find the others, dragging Donna behind her. Best to leave before he could ask too many questions.  
Hawk was observant but good at keeping secrets. Hopefully, he'd keep Laura’s.  
On their way through the lobby, which was now lit up by the returned electricity, Audrey came running down the stairs in a huff.  
"They’re all safe in the master suite, I locked them in. What do I need to do?”  
“Nothing,” Laura answered, “We took care of it.” Donna nodded meekly next to her.  
Audrey narrowed her eyes at me, looking Laura up and down. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you around before. And I’m Audrey Horne--it’s my job to know everyone.”  
Laura stammered, searching for an answer. “Well, uh, I’m actually--”  
“She’s my cousin,” Donna interjected.  
"No, I know who you are," Audrey started, her face souring. "You're Laura Palmer and you're supposed to be dead. I remember because everyone was real sad about it," she mocked.  
Before Laura could answer she continued,"I want some answers. I want them now."  
Donna saw the shock on Laura’s face and answered for her,"You can't always get what you want Audrey."  
Donna turned to leave. Laura made eye contact with Audrey, who was at a loss for words. Laura shrugged, and followed Donna into the parking lot.  
"I will find out! You can bet on that!" Audrey shouted as the door slammed behind them. 

A few days after the incident at the Great Northern, Dr. and Mrs. Hayward were out of town for one of Mrs. Hayward’s treatments, so Donna invited Laura over for a sleepover, just like they used to. After she put her kid sister to bed, Laura showed up at her door. Margaret had sent along snacks, which for Margaret amounted to some kind of casserole, and beef stew.  
“I appreciate the Log Lady,” Donna smiled, “but I think we can do better than that.”  
They sat on Donna’s bed cross-legged, eating chocolate bunnies and drinking cheap wine. Laura almost felt normal again.  
Donna seemed distracted, then said quietly, “I’m sorry about what happened at the Great Northern. I don’t know what happened, I just… It’s not everyday I see a horde of demons.”  
Laura grabbed her hand and leaned in. “Hey. HEY.” Donna looked up at her, ashamed. “I never expected you to take all this without any issues. I mean, I just shattered everything you thought you knew! Monsters, mayhem, grrr, arghhh! I’m just lucky you’re sticking around. Everyone’s entitled to a good freakout, especially now.”  
Donna shook her head. “Hmmm. I guess…”  
“Well I know. So there.” They embraced, but Laura’s happiness faded as she remembered that night. “Donna,” Laura pulled back, “did Agent Cooper seem odd to you at all that night?”  
Donna looked puzzled as she tried to recall. “A little stiff maybe, but I mean, he had just gotten out of the hospital.”  
Laura sighed. “Donna, the night before the meeting I had a dream, and Agent Cooper was there. And then, well, he turned bad, and he tried to… hurt me. Donna, he became the man, the thing, that killed me. That man’s name is BOB, and I saw BOB’s face in Agent Cooper’s. He was inside him, eating him alive.”  
Donna seemed confused, and worse, frightened.  
“And then at the meeting… It seemed like my dream was true. That wasn’t Agent Cooper and that attack wasn't a coincidence. The real Agent Cooper is stuck on the other side, in the Other Place. This one is just a mirage, a puppet, a way for BOB to hurt me, and you, and everyone in Twin Peaks.”  
Donna took a long moment and stared at the wall. She finally broke her silence, and with a small voice asked “Are you sure?”  
“I know I wasn’t right a lot of the time back before, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but on this I’m never wrong. My dreams tell me the truth whenever I can understand them. You just have to trust me. We have to stop that man.”  
Suddenly, there was a knock on the window. Donna’s room being on the second floor, this gave them both a start.  
Donna gasped and turned to the window. Laura’s entire body tensed, and she jumped up and dashed to the corner where her axe was leaning against the wall. Donna looked at her hesitantly, and she mouthed to Donna silently “Go ahead.”  
Slowly, Donna approached the window, her hand shaking, memories of the other night’s brutality flashing through her mind. When she reached the window, she took a deep breath, and reached to open it--  
The window opened just before she could grab it. She gasped, and fell back into her bedside table, clutching her mouth so as not to scream.  
"Donna... " a familiar voice spoke from the darkness. " Donna, I've missed you so much"  
"James... Come inside, " Donna answered in almost a whisper.  
The curtains fluttered in the night breeze as James climbed through the window and into Donna’s room. He reached out for her tentatively, then saw Laura standing in the corner, poised to strike with an axe in her hand. His face went blank and he stepped back once or twice. “L-Laura?”  
“Step away from him Donna, he’s a vampire.” Laura knew the moment he had entered the room, only after Donna had invited him in. He was colder, she could feel it. His voice was hollow and his skin paler, the shadows under his eyes betraying sleepless nights. Laura knew how to tell the difference now.  
James wouldn't look at her now. Instead he pleaded with Donna.  
"I would never hurt you. I love you."  
“You sure it’s love, James?” Laura spat. “Sure it’s not just hunger pains?”  
Donna started crying softly. "What happened to you, James?"  
"I was riding with these guys in Vegas. A poet, a tattoo artist, and his girlfriend. They weren't what they seemed but I found out the hard way."  
Laura scoffed and rolled her eyes, but Donna turned to her and shouted “Stop it, Laura! Let him talk!”  
"They left me for dead in a gutter but I lived. I've been like this ever since but I swear I've never fed. I can't bring myself to kill."  
Laura bit her tongue and suppressed the urge to stake him. But he turned his attention to Laura.  
“So my turn for some questions,” he said, his voice low and monotone. “I’m not the only one undead here, it would seem. So what’s been up with you, Laura?”  
She grinned falsely, her big homecoming queen grin. “Resurrected as the Slayer! Heard of me yet? I hear I’m quite a popular talking point among the vamp population.”  
He frowned. “I missed you Laura.”  
Laura’s grin turned downward and she looked away.  
"I'm sure Maddy would have something to say about that."  
Both James and Donna avoided her eyes.  
"I've gotta go, Donna. Call me tomorrow?"  
Laura pressed the stake into her hand.  
"Just in case."  
Laura blew them both a kiss and winked at James before heading for the door. “Come see me sometime, you know, if the guilt becomes too much. I’d love to put you out of your misery.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The walk home was long and gave Laura a lot of time to think.  
A few cigarettes into the walk, she started crying. She ripped the half heart from her neck and left it on the side of the road.  
By the time Laura got to Margaret’s cabin, she was about to burst. Luckily, Margaret was sitting up in the living room, watching an "Invitation to Love" rerun with glassy eyes while whispering to her log.  
When Laura came in she put the kettle on to boil before saying anything. Laura composed herself. “Unburden yourself, child, it does not do for one to swallow all the sadness of the world. Our duty is to share, and shoulder the burdens together."  
Laura sighed deeply and fell on the couch in a heap. “Margaret, what would you do if someone you cared about became something you hated? Something you had to destroy? What if they could hurt those you love?”  
"You have to let others make their own mistakes sometimes," Margaret started.  
Laura cut her off before she could go on. "It's James. He just showed up at Donna's tonight and I threatened to kill him but left because Donna was there."  
“I knew it was the Hurley boy, my log keeps score between those in the legion of light and those recruited against us. I always suspected he was attracted to the shadow in the human heart." Margaret seemed distracted by the log, and shushed it quietly before placing it on the coffee table. “Despite what some may say,” she cut a look at the hunk of wood, “and despite what even I may say on occasion, a man is not created of two separate halves, one housing malice and the other grace. Just as there are those without the weight of curses upon them that murder out of desire, there are those that suffer as the damned that reach for the light. Sometimes in vain and other times..."  
"What?" Laura managed.  
"Some others can bear the burden of both their curse and the weight of the soul, in extremely rare cases."  
“Well James never was one for brains but soul he’s got,” Laura conceded.  
"My advice to you is find out if he's still got it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The neon sign above the Double R was flickering in the foggy moonlight, and Donna and James were sitting in a booth next to the window. Norma watched from behind the bar while Shelley approached to take their order.  
“James! Haven’t seen you in town lately. Have fun on your little walkabout? Learn some life lessons on the road?” Shelley smiled and looked at the two, who gazed at each other weary glances.  
“Uh, yeah. Had a stopover in Vegas. Great town,” James grumbled without making eye contact.  
Donna elbowed him in the side.  
Shelly took the queue. "So what can I do for you tonight?"  
"A glass of milk and huckleberry pie for me," said Donna, attempting a half smile.  
"I'm not hungry," James said unconvincingly.  
"Be right back." Shelley buzzed away, sensing the tension.  
There was silent for a moment, Donna staring intently as James avoided her gaze. Suddenly she leaned forward and whispered, “We’re gonna have to talk about this eventually, okay? And I’m willing to listen if you’re--”  
Just then Audrey Horne pushed open the doors to the Double R, looked around expectantly, and then stared straight at Donna, visibly annoyed. Her eyes flashed and Donna’s back stiffened.  
She changed the song on the jukebox to Industrial Symphony #1, walked over, and slid into their booth.  
She was wearing a black pencil skirt and a red top with a frilly collar. Her heels made her an intimidating height.  
“Hey kids, out on the town? Need a third wheel?”  
James looked even more uncomfortable than normal, and shrank into the corner of the booth as far away from her as possible.  
She scoffed. “Love the new look James, even more broody and mysterious than usual.” Her fingernails clicked against the table.  
"Okay, let's cut to the chase. You and I both know what happened the other night wasn’t totally on the level. If the dead are rising, I’d like to know about it.” Her brows were furrowed but her sly smile betrayed her excitement and curiosity. If there’s one thing Audrey Horne couldn’t resist, (other than older men,) it was a good mystery. And this was the best one yet.  
“Audrey, I--” Donna stammered.  
“Don’t. Play. Dumb, Donna. It isn’t pretty on you.”  
Just as Shelley was approaching with her pie and milk, Donna slammed her hands on the table in frustration. Shelley raised her eyebrows, frowned, and mumbled “I’ll come back later, I guess…” before turning back to the kitchen.  
Donna fumed. She had reached her boiling point. “Okay, Audrey, yes, Laura is back, she was resurrected to destroy all the evil in Twin Peaks and the Log Lady is teaching her karate and James here is a vampire and everything’s going to hell, so there, Audrey, OKAY?! Are you happy?”  
James sighed. “Are you kidding me…”  
"Um, Are you kidding ME? Finally embracing the full bad boy cliche, are we James? C’mon, lemme see those chompers--"  
"No, Audrey, that's the truth. Believe it or don't."Donna threw her hands in the air, frustrated.  
Audrey cocked an eyebrow. “Ya know I have the number of a good shrink if you guys need it..."  
Donna barked an empty laugh. "Lawrence Jacobey isn't a good shrink, if that's what you mean."  
"So you're serious about this stuff, huh? I want in."  
Donna rolled her eyes. “What?” she sighed, exhausted.  
“You heard me! Even if you’re lying to me it’s still more fun than running around the Great Northern chasing after dear old dad to make sure he doesn’t go loony again. And hey, I love a good snipe hunt. The game’s the best part.”  
Donna frowned. "You're gonna have to talk to Laura. And last I checked, you weren't exactly bosom buddies."  
Audrey flipped her hair and lit a cigarette, grimacing. “Laura and I have more in common than anyone else in this godforsaken town. Sometimes understanding doesn’t mean BFFs. But I thought you’d know that, Donna.” She sucked on the cigarette and smirked.  
James looked at his watch. “Sun’s coming up in 4 hours.”  
Audrey laughed. “What are you taking medication?”  
James shot her a withering glare and got up from the booth.  
Audrey raised her eyebrows and threw her hands up in surrender. “Oh wait, vampire, sorry. Hey I can get you some SPF 5000 if you need, just ask.”  
"Love you Donna. I'm outta here." James slinked away and his bike could be heard revving up.  
“Ugh, boys can be so sensitive. They can hardly take a joke. What you need is a man like I have."  
Donna chuckled humorlessly. “Which one?”  
Audrey's song was just ending as Bobby rushed inside drenched in some combination of rain, sweat, and tears.  
Shelley gasped. "Bobby, you're bleeding!"  
Bobby touched the cut on his forehead before collapsing against the bar. “Shit,” he whispered, looking at the blood on his hand.  
“What happened?!” Shelley screamed.  
Norma handed him a dry cloth.  
"Bobby, who did this to you? Shelley was getting hysterical but Norma tried to calm her.  
Bobby began mumbling, but soon his voice grew to a shout. “Some guy… Some fucking guy in the parking lot of the Great Northern came up behind me, grabbed me. Scratching me, trying to bite me--that son of a bitch is going to die!”  
Norma asked calmly “Did you see who it was? I'm calling the police.”  
“Nah, it’s too dark… But if I find out, he’s a dead man!”  
When Audrey began to get up to help, Donna grabbed her arm, and shook her head in warning.  
"I've gotta tell Laura about this. Are you coming?"  
Audrey, for once in her life, looked frightened.  
"We have to leave before Cooper gets here. Are you coming with me or not?"  
The mention of Cooper stirred something in Audrey and she stood to leave.  
Donna lead the way out to her car.

Margaret saw as a car pulled into her driveway.  
"Laura, it's Donna, she hollered upstairs. "And she's not alone!"  
Margaret could hear Laura clamoring about upstairs.  
She signed and turned off her rerun of "Invitation to Love."  
The visitors were coming up to the door. She looked through the peep hole.  
Donna Hayward and Audrey Horne. Audrey knocked impatiently “Laura, sweetie, it’s time to stop playing hide and seek. Come out and play!”  
Laura rolled her eyes, and opened the door. “You caught me, Audrey. Come in.”  
Audrey and Donna sat at the kitchen table while Margaret made them coffee, Laura leaning against the counter, her arms crossed. Audrey couldn’t stop staring at Laura--she had seen her face constantly after her death. The nightly news, the funeral, her name on everyone’s lips. Especially Agent Cooper’s. But now seeing her here, real, alive. It was like seeing a dream right in front of you. Laura furrowed her brow and scowled at Audrey.  
“What are you looking at?” Laura growled.  
“Well, duh! You were dead, dummy! What am I supposed to do, brush that off like nothing?” Audrey answered.  
Laura sighed. “Audrey. They cut me open. They buried me. And I climbed out of the grave to save Twin Peaks from the evil that lives in the woods. You saw what I could do the other night at the Great Northern. If that’s not enough I’ll take you to the cemetery, to see my empty casket.” Laura spat.  
Audrey frowned, but dropped the subject.  
Donna cleared her throat. “We came here to tell you about Bobby.”  
Laura laughed, a hard, humorless laugh. “Bobby?! Wow, I haven’t thought of him since… Well it feels like forever.”  
“It seems like he still holds a candle for you,” Audrey teased. “You should have seen him at the funeral.”  
“What happened at my funeral?!” Laura asked, appalled.  
“Anyway,” Donna shot a reproachful look at Audrey. “He came into the Double R, bleeding and hysterical. Said he got attacked outside the Great Northern." Donna continued.  
"Did he say what attacked him?” Laura asked. “We really need to get more informed on what we're facing..."  
"We?! We're not facing anything! I don't even know what's going on yet!" Audrey shouted.  
Margaret ignored her. "She's right. We need more information than I can provide based on folktales and local history. A few of us need to delve into some arcane volumes."  
Donna nodded. “I’ll help. I feel like I can’t do anything to help around here, but… I’ll try.”  
Margaret continued,"I have a few books up in my attic. That will give us a start but after that, you'll need a contact with access to the Bookhouse."  
"But what about Bobby?" Audrey reminded.  
Everyone turned their attention to her but didn't know what to say right away. They had to decide exactly how much Audrey could know, beyond the basics.  
Margaret looked uncomfortable and declared she would be in the other room preparing coffee for the guests.  
Laura sighed. “Audrey, there are things in this town that mean to do us all harm. We’re all at risk, and Bobby was attacked. By a vampire.”  
Audrey looked Laura in the face, dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open. “First you tell me you pull a second coming and now vampires?” Laura rolled her eyes. But Audrey continued: “I mean, I’m going with it--and I can’t forget what I saw the other night. But I’m just letting everyone know how ridiculous this sounds.”  
"We know, Audrey," replied Donna calmly as Laura bit her tongue. "But this is the kind of thing that's either going to tear the town apart or bring us all together. We're all being affected by this. James is a vampire, Bobby is being attacked, and your dad's hotel isn't even safe anymore."  
Audrey nodded, but didn’t say anything.  
“Really?” Laura asked. “No pithy remarks? Not even about James?”  
Audrey scoffed. “Oh, come on, James being undead is the most believable thing you’ve told me.  
"Besides," she continued, regaining some resilience,"being around a person like Agent Cooper stretches a person's ideas about reality a little bit.  
Laura and Donna locked eyes, and frowned. “Now that you mention it, we have something to tell you about Agent Cooper, too…”  
“It’s not him, is it?” Audrey asked, quietly, looking down into her coffee. “I knew it wasn’t, the other night at the meeting. He was cold, almost cruel. He wasn’t my special Agent.”  
Laura raised her eyebrows. “Well, you know more than you think. Maybe we could use you on this after all.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben Horne sat at his desk, his feet up, smoking a massive cigar. The windows of his huge office were now covered in heavy curtains, and a telltale Confederate flag remaining on the back wall. Ben had left behind his obsessive Civil War persona recently, and the hotel staff was unsure how to handle him lest yet another personality emerge.  
A knock on the door, and Ben shouted “Come in!”  
Bobby entered, his forehead bandaged, wearing a grim frown.  
“Bobby my boy!” Ben crowed, standing to greet him.  
Bobby waved away the gesture with a nasty look on his face. “Save it, Ben. Look, what kinda assholes you got hanging out around this place? First the fiasco the other night at the town meeting--what the hell was that? And then last night I’m walking home and some psycho comes out of the woods and jumps me! Scratching at me, grabbing my neck, trying to bite me… What’s the deal Ben, you got a serial killer convention shacking up at the Northern?”  
Ben seemed taken aback, but not necessarily surprised. “What are you insinuating, Bobby? That I would selfishly align myself with unsavory elements for personal gain?"  
Bobby gave him a look that said yes. “Well, uh, no disrespect, but Jack’s is an open secret at this point, so I wouldn’t put it past you.”  
Ben stood and, with his hands in his pockets, began pacing the room. “Bobby, what would you say if I told you that a young man like you has the opportunity to be part of something great? Something that will empower not only yourself, but the whole community, changing Twin Peaks for the better?”  
Bobby scoffed. “What the hell does that mean? I just wanna beat the ass of the psycho that attacked me last night, I don't need to save the pine weasel again!”  
Ben chuckled, which only served to infuriate Bobby further. “Bobby, the man who attacked you the other night was me.”  
Bobby jumped up and almost charged at Ben. “What, do you got a death wish?! I should kill you right now for that shit you pulled!”  
Bobby swung at Ben, who grabbed his fist in mid-air, and squeezed. Bobby cried out as he felt his fingers cracking in Ben’s grip.  
"Bobby, that's the problem with you... You can never appreciate, or even notice, when someone has offered you a very interesting opportunity.“  
Bobby looked frantic. Ben's grip tightened.  
"No problem though. I now know for certain that you would be little more than a liability to me."  
"Ben, c'mon, I can he civil," Bobby pleaded.  
"Now that I've broken your nose and a few of your fingers, my suggestion to you, Mr. Briggs, is to get out of my sight before I feel the need to disable you any further."  
Ben released Bobby, who fell back into a wall, before scrambling back toward the door.  
Ben straightened his cuff links and sucked on the cigar, mumbling “Your time will come soon enough, Bobby. Soon enough.”  
When Bobby opened the door he was greeted by two men, dressed all in black, who stuffed a rag in Bobby’s mouth and handcuffed him, before taking him away down the dark wood hallway into the deep interior of the Great Northern. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Audrey stopped into the Double R the next day for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, she didn’t expect to find Shelley holding back tears next to the cash register. After a short internal debate about whether she really cared, Audrey decided to ask what was wrong.  
“It’s Bobby,” Shelley choked. “He didn’t come home last night, and after the attack the other night, I can’t help but think the worst…”  
“Well where was he going the last time you saw him?” Audrey asked absentmindedly, already regretting asking.  
“Well,” Shelley wiped away tears, “come to think of it, he was heading to the Great Northern to talk to your dad. I called up there but they said he had left after a meeting with Ben.”  
Wait, Audrey thought. The vampire attack the other night outside the hotel, and now this? Something didn’t seem right.  
Audrey patted Shelley on the shoulder. “Tell you what, I’ll ask around for you, I’m sure he talked to someone up there before he took off.”  
Shelley smiled, although a bit surprised. “Wow, Audrey, I really appreciate it.”  
Audrey grinned smugly. “All in a day’s work. Nothing goes on in this town without me knowing about it.”

Cindy at reception was no help, as per usual. If Audrey wanted something done right, she would have to do it herself. When Cindy went on lunch break Audrey snuck away with the room log, and scanned for Bobby’s name. She wouldn’t put it past him to bring some girl up here for the weekend, leaving Shelley at home worrying but none the wiser. She checked every room but couldn’t find one registered to Bobby, and a quick poll of the staff told her he wasn’t using a fake name to shack up either--no one of Bobby’s description was checked in. But Audrey still had a sneaking suspicion that there was something she didn’t know. And Audrey was determined to find out.  
There were quite a few places in the hotel that Audrey used for espionage purposes, peepholes and hidden rooms where she would watch and listen, like the one where she saw her father and Donna’s mother not long ago. They would be her best bet.  
Audrey made her way down to the basement level, flashlight in hand. Mostly there were storage rooms, but Audrey knew of a few passageways left neglected by the staff. She found the small door at the back of the furniture storage room, wedged behind a large wood frame sofa. It was almost too heavy but after a few determined pushes, Audrey opened the door.  
There was a long narrow hallways behind it, pitch black save for a few flickers of light straight ahead. Audrey turned off her flashlight, and tiptoed ahead slowly. It seemed like this was part of the hotel’s original layout, but was walled in during her father’s remodeling. She was walking behind the walls of another room, and the light ahead was coming from some loose slats in the wall. She approached the gap, crouched, and looked through.  
Three men, all dressed in black, were emptying and cleaning out large white buckets. Hanging in the center of the room above one of the buckets was Bobby. He was moaning softly but seemed out of it. Audrey let out a snatched gasp, but quickly covered her mouth. Bobby had tubes protruding from his neck, both sides, as well as his arms, where you would have blood drawn at a hospital. The tubes were funneling into the bucket, which was slowly filling with blood. A man approached Bobby and replaced the bucket below him with a clean, empty one, then moved toward Audrey to place it somewhere out of her line of sight. As he approached, she recognized him--Uncle Jerry? But he looked different, his face scrunched up around his eyes, which were a sickly yellow, and his--oh god, Audrey thought, Donna and Laura weren’t pulling her leg about the whole vampire thing.  
Audrey rose up shakily, turned, and walked slowly back towards the door, praying they didn’t hear the click of the door handle. 

One phone call later, Laura was packing all the stakes she had carved in her old pink backpack from high school while Audrey and Donna sat on her bed, both with wide eyes full of apprehension.  
“Okay, so Donna will keep a lookout at the top of the stairs, make sure no one tries to come sniffing around in the basement while we’re down there,” Laura said while sharpening her axe, checking her reflection in the gleaming metal.  
Audrey cleared her throat. “But wouldn’t it be easier to wait until morning? I mean, vampires go to bed at sunrise, right?”  
Laura nodded. “Yeah, it would be safer, but if we wait that long Bobby could bleed out and be dead by then. We have no time to lose.” Laura continued, “Now Audrey, you and I will go down into the passage. If Bobby’s alone, great we get him down and out of there ASAP. But if the vamps are guarding him, which we should be prepared for, Audrey you cut him down while I fight them off.” She handed Audrey a stake. “And take this, just in case you get cornered. Straight to the heart.”  
Audrey nodded, and took the thin stake with shaking hands.  
“You’ll need as much help as you can get,”said a voice from the doorway. James stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door frame.  
“Who let you in?” Laura spat. “Thought you needed an invitation, and I certainly don’t want you here.”  
“Margaret let me in. Apparently she thinks there could be some good in me still.”  
Laura laughed, humorlessly. “Well, that makes one of us.”  
James sighed. “Look Laura, I understand, but you couldn’t possibly hate me as much as I hate me. So I’m gonna try my best to help, no matter what. Because one of these day’s I’m gonna prove to you that I’m not like the others.”  
“Well it looks like your self-loathing survived the transition, babe.” Laura winked with a twisted grin. “And nothing better than a vamp who kills his own kind, now that’s what I call loyalty.”  
“Laura, he’s trying his best,” Donna interjected, softly. “We’re all just trying to help you.”  
“Well,” Audrey said, “this is a fascinating personal drama, but we kinda have a rescue mission to plan.”  
Laura rolled her eyes. “Alright Lost Boy, if you’re tagging along make sure not to get in the way of my axe. And oh yeah, all our necks are off limits.”

Audrey entered the Great Northern first, to distract the receptionist from Laura, James, and Donna, who made their way to the stairwell that led down to the basement level. Audrey soon rejoined them.  
Laura whispered, “You ready Donna? If anyone tries to come down, make up your best excuse. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”  
“Good luck, and dust some for me.” Donna locked eyes with James, and she squeezed his hand reassuringly. He nodded back solemnly.  
The three of them descended the stairs, Laura clutching the the axe hidden under her cloak, Audrey continually wiping her sweaty palms on her skirt so the stake wouldn’t slip from her grip, and James weaponless, save for the demon he harbored behind his eyes.  
After they uncovered the small door and entered the narrow corridor, they approached the peephole and gazed into the room beyond.  
“Oh, great,” Laura whispered.  
There were 5 vampires gathered around Bobby, seeming to perform some sort of ritual. A large man in a cloak that covered his face stood behind Bobby, leading the proceedings and inscribing a pentagram on the concrete floor in blood. After the symbol was complete, the man stood up straight, and removed his hood. Benjamin Horne. But now, instead of his usual slimy smile, he was sporting fangs.  
Audrey clapped her hand over her mouth and leaned away from the opening. Laura turned and grabbed Audrey by the shoulders, whispering “You don’t have to do this Audrey, go, go back and wait with Donna.”  
Audrey shook her head, her mouth hanging open and her eyes still focused on the scene before them. “No,” she hissed. “J-just let me have your cloak. He can’t know it’s me.”  
Laura raised her eyebrows and glanced at James, who looked equally stunned. “Umm… Okay, here.” Laura draped the cloak over Audrey, who made sure her face was covered. “Remember. Right for the heart.” Audrey nodded.  
“1… 2…” Laura braced herself. “3.”  
Laura kicked in the wall with all her strength, shattering the splintered wooden slats and bursting into the room.  
All eyes turned to Laura and everyone sprung into action.  
Ben pulled up his hood. "Boys, we've got company!"  
A tall brick wall of a thug swung a punch at Laura's head but she managed to roll forward, dodging it.  
James caught the punch instead and pulled the man's arm back over his head. His arm snapped at the joint.  
With their ritual interrupted, Bobby regained consciousness and began to struggle with his ties.  
Audrey used the distraction of James and Laura to run over and assist in untying him.  
A vamp ran to pursue Audrey and Laura swung her axe vertically, lobbing off his head in one fatal swoop. Audrey ducked and let out a little scream, but quickly continued untying Bobby. Ben saw the cloaked figure fiddling with Bobby’s restraints and a smile lit up his face.  
“Oh look, a hooded figure--a fashion after my own heart.”  
Jerry laughed but looked less than amused. "We gotta get out of here. I got into this to live forever, not die in a fortnight!"  
Ben paused, his eyes lingering on Audrey. However, his eyeline was cut off by Laura, who stepped into his view. Ben’s eyes grew wide. “Laura Palmer! An avenging angel! Back from the dead with a chip on your shoulder I see.”  
Laura cocked her head and readied her axe. “Finally, an excuse to bash your brains in, you son of a bitch.”  
Laura hit him in the gut with the butt of her axe, knocking him to the ground and effectively ending his monologue. She swung down at his heart but his rolled to the side. Instead, her axe blade caught his robe leaving him pinned down.  
Jerry called from the other end of the room. An opening was exposed in the wall leading down some blackened corridor.  
Ben pulled, ripping his robe before Laura had another chance to attack in between dodging vampire goons. His escape into the passage was swift and nothing was left of the door they used but the solid stone walls of the basement.  
Laura shouted in frustration as she watched one of her many tormentors escape, and she used her anger to quickly dispatch the final few vamps. Perhaps a bit too passionately--soon her foes were in bits.  
Even Audrey got a kill in on one that James was struggling with, sneaking up behind the vampires who were both visibly tiring. Audrey plunged her stake into the back of the vamp, who exploded into a cloud of dust. Now she was face to face with James, seeing him for the first time as what he was. fangs and all. She gasped and dropped the stake. “Holy shit, James.”  
Laura cut the rest of Bobby's tubes and constraints away, hoisting him back into upright position. He tried to stand but collapsed, weary from blood loss and dizzy from hanging upside down. He opened his eyes, and gazed up at Audrey, James, and Laura standing over him. A stunned silence fell over the room.  
He opened his mouth to speak but he coughed blood instead. His throat was raw from a combination of dehydration and screaming.  
Laura offered him a hand, hoisted him up against her and James to to support him.  
“L-Laura?” Bobby mumbled groggily.  
“Yes, Bobby, it’s me,” Laura answered reassuringly.  
“Aw shit don’t tell me this is heaven.”  
"No, Bobby. I'll talk to you about it once we get out of here. We could all probably use a little food and rest."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“So that’s that, I guess,” Bobby mumbled while he lit a cigarette, squinting into the rapidly lightening dawn above the treetops. “My dead girlfriend is a Slayer.”  
“That’s that,” Laura said, matter of fact though her voice was dark and low.  
Bobby let out a stream of smoke and sighed. “Ya know that prick Cooper, he asked me if I did it. The day they found you.”  
Laura looked away and lit her own cigarette with slightly shaking hands.  
“And of course I said no,” Bobby continued, “but then he said something, I’ll never forget it--’you didn’t love her anyway.’” Bobby’s fist clenched at the memory. “Yeah maybe I didn’t fit his sappy soap opera romance definition of love, but hey, we never cared about that shit anyway.”  
Laura smiled, and looked up at him.  
“But Laura I loved you like you love something trapped behind glass. I could tap all I wanted to try and get your attention, but I could never touch you, never really know what you were thinking. It was like watching you fall in slow motion, knowing I couldn’t reach out and catch you before… All I could do was watch.”  
“Yeah, imagine living that,” Laura said sharply.  
Bobby looked away, and ran a hand through his messy mop of hair. “I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m sorry I couldn’t help. Everything came out after you… passed, and I can’t imagine what it was like.”  
Laura let out a long sigh. “Margaret says, ‘A hunk of metal must be tempered by flame to become a sword. Your traumas forge you into iron, and through them, you are unbreakable.’”  
Bobby chuckled. “Wow, for once the Log Lady makes sense.”  
Laura turned quickly, shooting daggers at Bobby with her eyes. “So what about Shelley? Is she your Jade, or Emerald, your Invitation to Love?”  
Bobby smiled at the mention of her name, then remembered the infidelity. His grin fell. “Hey can we hold off on the righteous judgement, please? I wasn’t very happy to hear about James, especially when you were 6 feet under…”  
Laura gave him a pointed look. “That’s fair I guess. But anyway.”  
“Anyways, anyways... “ Bobby sighed absentmindedly. “ Shelley was falling too, but she I could catch. And I could make sure nobody ever hurt her again.”  
Laura scoffed. “You’re just addicted to wanting to be wanted, aren’t you, Bobby Briggs?”  
He chuckled, then looked her in the eyes. “Well. Laura, I learned from the best.”  
Laura elbowed him gently in the side, and he pretended to double over from pain. Laura laughed, and laid her head on his shoulder, surprising herself at how natural it felt. Bobby’s eyebrows raised and he looked down at her in surprise. But then he relaxed, put his arm around her shoulders, and leaned into her. Together they watched the sun rise over the ghostwoods. 

 

Laura was hoping that the next day or so would offer her a rest. Not just body though, her brain. She had a lot to think through.  
The only thing on the agenda today was cleaning out Margaret's attic, which was nothing compared to 6 AM training, and better yet, Margaret had also conned Donna into helping out.  
When Donna arrived, Margaret was sipping her coffee on the front porch.  
Donna smiled as she approached with a paper sack of cleaners and rubber gloves. She realized she had been smiling a lot more lately.  
"Hey, I brought those cleaning supplies you asked for, Margaret."  
"Thanks, I'm glad you came, Donna. My attic needs desperately to be organized. I haven't cleaned it out since the fire. Used to make my husband do it but, well, he can't now, can he?"  
Margaret patted her log. Donna laughed, not knowing what to say.  
Laura Palmer appeared at the door with two cups of coffee.  
"Hey Donna. You just missed breakfast."  
Donna took the mug she offered her. "Thanks for the coffee. I'm gonna need it. I had the weirdest dreams last night."  
Laura seemed distracted by something. She looked lost in thought and didn't reply. Donna tried again.  
"Um, do you think we'll find those books you were talking about up in your attic? That's sorta why I decided to help out."  
Margaret shrugged. "There's no telling what's up there. I haven't even been to the attic in almost 6 months."  
When they were done with their coffee, Margaret led them up to the second floor, to a ceiling entrance. Margaret unhooked the latch and pulled down the ladder.  
It was made of rusted metal and a few of the notches had broken off on one side.  
Donna almost slipped on her way up but Laura caught her by the arm and pulled her up into the attic.  
Laura remarked grimly,"I can see why you never come up here."  
"And I don't intend to start now. I'm too old for this kind of work." Margaret scuttled off. "Just holler if you see anything questionably dangerous. I'll be tending my herb garden in the back and burning sage downstairs if you need me."  
Donna gave Laura a quizzical look. "Burning sage?"  
"Yeah,” Laura shrugged, “it's supposed to clear out residual energy and cleanse the space of spiritual presences."  
Donna looked over her shoulder down at Margaret, who was retreating downstairs. "So she's a witch or something?"  
"Kinda, I guess."  
"That's weird but like cool weird."  
"James's eloquence is rubbing off on you." Laura said, deadpan.  
"Does it work though?" Donna was doing a poor job concealing her curiosity.  
"Dunno. But it couldn't hurt."  
The girls scanned the room.  
It was a small space. If they were much taller they wouldn't be able to stand up. On the far wall there was a window. Around them were a few stacks of boxes with books piled on top. The stack closest to them had an old burgundy record player with black trim on it.  
Donna walked over to the window and forced it open, stirring up a huge cloud of dust. She coughed a bit, and grimaced, but soon found a broom and began sweeping.  
Laura organized the possessions into three categories: music/books/memorabilia/keepsakes, junk, and objects of unknown purpose. Laura kneeled to examine the record player. It looked a lot like her dad's. The smell of burning sage wafted into the room through the floorboards.  
In the box underneath the record player there were a ton of records. Margaret, or her husband, had surprisingly varied taste. The collection included jazz, folk, pop, and even a little bluegrass.  
Laura put on the only album she recognized and set the others in a stack on the ground. At the bottom of the box was an old police scanner.  
"Look, Donna. We can keep tabs in the police department and have a heads up on vampire reports."  
Donna wasn't listening to her. She had stopped sweeping and was digging through a large jewelry box. It was packed with all kinds of strange knick knacks.  
"Laura, did I tell you about my dream?"  
Laura shrugged, a bit put off by Donna’s absentmindedness. "You mentioned it."  
"Well, this box was in it. I don't know why but it seems like I'm having those weird dreams like you sometimes have." Donna grew quiet, and Laura slowly gravitated toward her.  
Donna picked through the box. Behind large rings, crystal shards, and a string of pearls lay a simple deck of cards in a unmarked black box.  
"This is it. I'm sure I was supposed to find this." Donna seemed self-conscious of how ridiculous she sounded, but she knew in her heart she was right.  
She threw Laura the deck. "Do you feel that?” Donna asked tentatively. “It's like they're alive."  
She was right. The box made Laura's fingers tingle.  
"I don't like it. Makes me feel all squirmy." Laura shivered. She passed them back to Donna. "Should we ask Margaret before we do anything?"  
But it was too late. Donna was already sliding the cards out into her hand. She shuffled through them. Moon, cups, wands, priestess. These weren't ordinary cards.  
"Look, Laura. Tarot cards. My aunt used to have some of these but these look way cooler."  
As if on cue, Margaret popped her head through the attic entry hole, burning sage still on hand.  
"I see the cards have called you. You should keep them. They stopped talking to me a long time ago."  
Donna shuffled them in her hands.  
"Are you sure? I don't even know how to use them..." she replied, already doubting herself.  
Margaret pointed to a stack of books.  
"There should be a guide over there. A black book with green diamonds down the spine."  
"What are those other books about ?"  
"There's a red one with a seven pointed star on the front in silver over there. It should have all your basic demon types and prevention tactics in it. " Margaret said flatly.  
Donna began thumbing through the books, at first hesitantly but then eagerly. She gazed at Laura, her eyes wide and a smile on her face. “Maybe I’ll finally be able to help more with the slaying! I may not be very brave, or very strong, but one thing I’ve always been great at is studying.”

\-----------------------------------------------------

Dead Dog Ranch sat seemingly vacant that night, bathed in moonlight and almost hidden by overgrown brush. The only sign of life was the telltale flickering of a fire reflecting off the broken glass of a window pane.  
A knock sounded on the front door, to the rhythm of “shave and a haircut, two bits.” A man dressed all in black opened the door slowly, and Ben Horne entered the living room. “Jesus, just because we’re creatures of the night doesn’t mean we have to live in crypts, my great man! I can get my interior decorator for the Great Northern down here any time--”  
“Shut the fuck up, Ben.” Agent Cooper sat in a large chair near the fireplace, a cup of coffee in his hand. He gazed into the fire, never taking his eyes off the flames and embers. “Why are you here.” It wasn’t phrased as a question, but rather a command.  
Ben sighed, and muttered something under his breath. Cooper snapped his neck in Ben’s direction and stared daggers at the man. Ben stiffened.  
“The operation with the younger Briggs went awry. It seems the local kids are catching wise to our little covert shadowplays--”  
“The affairs of schoolchildren are no concern of mine, and you are wasting my time.” Cooper gestured to his men waiting in the shadows, and they approached Ben with dark intentions.  
“Wait wait wait!” Ben said as he put up his hands in surrender. “You may be interested in this--Laura Palmer was leading the charge.” Cooper’s back stiffened, but Ben continued. “Back from the dead, it seems. It was odd really, somewhere, deep down, beneath the fangs and demonic urges, I recalled a certain affection for the girl. Like a phantom limb…” Ben trailed off.  
Cooper’s wide gaping smile shone in the darkness. “One you would be willing to amputate, I’m sure.” He stood suddenly and clapped his hands on Ben’s shoulders, laughing. Ben’s eyes widened and he flinched. Cooper grinned maniacally. “Laura Palmer, alive and slaying. It’s almost like Christmas.”


	2. Darkness on the Edge of Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang tries their hardest to cope with horrors both past and present.

GHOSTWOOD GIRL: DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN 

Laura Palmer was in the Black Lodge and it was blacker than ever but she could smell the decay of moth eaten curtains and dusty furniture.   
A flash of light illuminated the room and she saw a familiar woman in a deep cut black dress dancing. to music she couldn't hear.   
As she got closer Blackie stopped dancing and sneered at her. She spat venomously,“You're nothing but a junkie looking to run away. You don't just wanna have a good time, you want to get yourself killed."  
Laura gasped. "What??"   
"You're a freak, Laura, and you're disturbing your clientele, your coworkers, and especially me."  
Laura took a step back.   
The light flickered on again revealing that Blackie now had a full set of sharp shark-like teeth, black liquid dripping from her mouth down her chin. Then, she was gone.   
The room was black again. She heard her father's voice.   
"Oh, princess, it's all gonna be okay…” The voice was directly behind her, his breath hot in her ear.   
"Did you have a rough day at school, baby?"  
Her blood boiled. He could talk to her like this knowing how he had treated her in the black of night.   
"Is it about Bobby? Or is there someone new?"  
As an effort to be strong, she swung a wild 180 degree punch which somehow connected despite the dark.  
"That wasn't very nice..."  
All the kindness had left the voice. The light flashed through the room again. Now BOB was with her.   
He seethed,“I will own you yet."  
Her body collapsed as a blonde woman in a black dress with white eyes approached her laughing, lips black and teeth a sickly yellow. Laura felt as if she was looking into a dark, twisted mirror, and then she realized--the woman was her, though long dead, her soul rotted away. BOB licked his lips. 

Laura Palmer awoke in a cold sweat. She rolled onto her side, let out a sob, and pushed her hair out of her face with her hands.   
She opened her eyes. The bedroom was pitch black. A heavy rain crashed against the window. As she stood up from the bed the floorboards creaked beneath her feet.  
The darkness of the room was too similar to the dream. She couldn't escape the idea that she was the same as the wicked Laura she had seen. She couldn't even be too sure she was awake now.   
Lightning struck and Laura could've sworn she saw a man in a suit in the corner of the bedroom but in the same instant, he disappeared.   
She reached, trembling, to turn on the lamp on the bedside table but it didn't come on. The storm had caused a power outage.  
In the drawer of the table she fumbled for her lighter. She flicked it on and the soft flame illuminated the room.  
The light made her feel safer but the room still made her uneasy.   
Laura walked to the door and down the hall, with her lighter guiding the way.   
The light of fire was glowing downstairs.  
"Margaret...," she whimpered as she made her way down the stairs.   
"Yes, dear?" Margaret answered as she lit another candle, one of dozens.   
The downstairs den was aglow with candle light. Margaret looked angelic in the soft glow.   
Laura started to cry again. She hugged Margaret tightly, much to Margaret's surprise.   
"I love you."  
Margaret returned the embrace. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shelley drove her pickup truck to the Double R through ominous sheets of rain while lightning cracked the gunmetal grey sky overhead. She squinted through the windshield, struggling to see the blurry red break lights in front of her through the torrent. Finally, she pulled into the diner’s parking lot, sliding into place next to Norma’s sedan. Shelley pulled her jacket up over her head and braced for the waterlogged walk inside.   
Norma greeted her with a friendly smile while Shelley stifled a yawn--she never did like the early shifts, but the truckers need a cup of joe round the clock. And they sure did like her, she thought with a frown.   
She was manning the french press when she heard Norma gasp and shout from near the entrance.   
“What is it?” Shelley asked as she rushed to Norma’s side.   
“There’s someone out there, in the woods,” Norma muttered, alarmed yet controlled, as she dialed 911. “In this weather, at this hour… And what’s that they’re carrying--Yes hello, Lucy, please we need Sheriff Truman down here right away…”  
Shelley’s stomach dropped through the floor when she saw the figure moving among the Douglas Firs. She suppressed her instinct to run out the back, to flee somewhere where he would never, ever find her again. But instead, she managed to stammer out “T-That’s Leo…”   
And she had been fool enough to believe she was free. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, Donna was in the cabin's attic space, surrounded by candles, shuffling her tarot deck.   
Ever since Donna had started using the cards, it was as if something had awoken inside her. She felt like a new person with purpose in her life once again.   
When Laura died before, Donna kinda felt like she was floating along, just going through the motions for a long time. It was good for her to have something to occupy her mind again since school certainly wasn't any source of stimulation and it didn't look like she was going to college anytime soon.   
She began laying out a five card spread that her book had called the Spiritual Progression, but she wasn't doing one for herself. This one would be focusing on Laura. She was worried about her. She was always worried about her.  
Judgement. Six of Swords. Two of Wands. Inverted Star. Empress.   
She flipped through the guidebook, trying to determine what the cards meant when used in conjunction.   
Donna felt a hand on her back as thunder struck and she jumped.   
She spun around and saw Laura looking over her shoulder, holding a steaming mug.   
"Jesus, Laura. You gave me a heart attack!"  
"Sorry, Donna. I just came up to see how your magic mumbo-jumbo was going. Didn't mean to scare you, muffin."  
Donna shot her an uncharacteristically dirty look.   
"So... What does all this mean?"  
Donna took a deep breath and began reading aloud.   
"Card one, Judgement, represents your current spiritual state. This one's all about rebirth and new beginnings. A return to order."  
"Okay sounds about right so far."  
"Card two, the main theme of your current spiritual cycle. In this case it's Six of Swords. That means you'll have to go through a difficult but necessary rite of passage. Some kind of journey."  
Laura took a long slow sip of her spearmint green tea.   
"Card three: things that help you with this. Two of Wands. New discoveries, planning, progress. Little vague..."  
"I’ll say." Laura sighed.   
"Okay, but listen, card four is interesting. This one is things that may be impeding you. Inverted Star means a kind of 'spiritual distortion, ' in the form of despair and discouragement."  
"Spooky..." Laura rolled her eyes, "Maybe Margaret can cleanse me or something."  
Donna ignored her.  
"And the last card is what you need to do next. The Empress calls on you to connect with your feminine energy. Try to create beauty around you. Get in touch with your sensuality through the five senses. Draw on this energy to bring yourself deep fulfillment."  
"Slayer stuff." Laura muttered.  
“You know you’re not just the Slayer. You’re still Laura.”  
Laura was already making her way down the ladder.  
"Does that make it better or worse?"  
Donna switched to the book about basic magick. She turned and replied, "Better" but Laura was already gone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Leo Johnson was found roaming the woods outside the Double R this morning at 5:45, dragging a bloodied buck behind him. When Andy and Hawk confronted him, he immediately attacked them, but he was so disoriented and dehydrated that he was easy to take down.” Sheriff Truman looked away from the report and back to Cooper, who was watching Leo pace back and forth in the cramped jail cell.   
“And he’d been missing for how long?”   
“Based on the shape he’s in I could say days, weeks? No one can be sure, because Shelley never reported the disappearance.” Harry leaned in and lowered his voice. “Just between you and me, if I were her I wouldn’t miss him either.”  
Cooper furrowed his brow. “Seems to me that Twin Peaks is comprised primarily of good people. Leo Johnson seems to be an outlier. Has he told you anything?”  
Harry shrugged and shook his head. “Between the threats and epithets, the boys could only really get out one thing--he kept mumbling about chess pieces.”  
Cooper stiffened, then after a moment, he replied “Once he calms down, release him to Shelley.”  
Harry shuffled in place, his eyes moving from Cooper to Leo in doubt. “I don’t know, Coop, this guy is bad news even on a good day, I couldn’t with clean conscience put him back in that home in this condition--”  
Cooper slowly moved his gaze to meet Harry’s. “Is there anything we can charge him with?” Dale snapped.   
Harry frowned and shrugged. “Assault on a police officer…”  
“You said yourself that he was never a real threat.” Coop’s voice was low and slow, and for a moment Harry thought he was being threatened. Then Dale seemed to shake it off, smile, and return to his usual lighter cadence. “Let the man go back to his family. Everyone deserves a second chance, Harry.”  
Harry’s eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened into a straight line. “I’ll have Hawk drop him at their place.”  
Cooper clapped his hands on Harry’s shoulders and smiled, too wide, too bright. A smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Good, Harry. Good.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norma placed a cup of coffee in front of an older gentleman, and then quickly walked over to Shelley, who was sitting in a booth near the back with her head in her hands. Norma slid in across the table and touched Shelley’s arm tenderly.  
“You know, it’s not busy, you can go home early if you like.”  
Shelley shook her head violently and began breathing heavily. “No, no! I can’t go home. Please just let me stay here. I can’t see him again, not alone…”  
Norma hushed her and nodded solemnly. “Do you want me to call Bobby?” she asked in a low, calming voice.   
Shelley sighed, and whispered. “I don’t know. Bobby is still living with his parents and I don't really want them to get to know me like this..."  
“I understand,” Norma said reassuringly. “You stay in this booth as long as you want. And I’ll be here whenever you need me. You can even stay with me, if you like.”  
A customer across the diner called for Norma, and she gave a sad smile to Shelley and a pat on the hand before getting up to wait on them. Shelley folded her hands beneath her chin and went silent, staring at nothing in particular. Her gaze was blank but behind those eyes she was considering the thought of going back to living beneath that man, to enduring his torture, to existing in a constant state of fear. Fear was her closest friend. But she couldn’t bring herself to run back into its arms.   
An hour, three, five, later, Shelley got up from the booth and slid on her jacket. Norma approached her with a coffee pot in hand and asked if she should call Ed so he could make up the guest bedroom for the evening. Shelley smiled, and thanked her, and said “I have something to do first.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Audrey watched herself closely in the mirror as she applied her crimson lipstick. Not because she wasn't already adept at putting on lipstick, but because she admired the way it transformed her. She went from a girl to a woman in one swipe across the lips.  
Audrey knew that beauty could be a statement, a plea, a weapon, or a shield. Maybe even all four, she thought as she blotted away the excess.   
She adjusted her black pleated skirt, blouse, and tied a chiffon neckerchief around her throat before smiling at herself in the mirror. This was a job for a woman and this outfit was perfect for a dreary evening stroll.   
Tonight, Audrey was going to get what she wanted, like she always did, but this time it might take a little extra finesse.  
Just as she opened the door to the long corridor of the Great Northern, a bright flash of lightning struck, so bright that it was visible throughout the hotel.   
The power went down.   
Audrey cursed to herself. She walked into the darkness. She knew the halls of this hotel better than anyone.   
She walked down to the hall, took a left, then a right a little further down towards her father's office.   
A familiar silhouette was walking by flashlight just ahead.  
Audrey crept closer and realized it was Jerry, heading toward the nearest stairwell--probably down into that dungeon the vamps had congregated in the other night for that ritual. Laura had given Audrey a small, thin stake, the size of a fountain pen, to carry just in case. Audrey pulled it from her knee sock, and hid it behind her back. Using the light as her guide, she followed Jerry until he reached the flight of stairs down to the ground level.   
It was now or never--Audrey had to make her move. She had known ever since she was little that Jerry was the weaker of the Horne brothers. And she was counting on it tonight.  
She moved swiftly behind Jerry and pressed the stake to his back, aligning it with his dead heart. With her other hand she wrapped her scarf and pulled tight around his neck until she heard his choking gurgle as his flashlight fell to the floor.  
"Hey uncle Jerry. I was wondering if you had a little time to talk?"  
"Audrey?" he gasped out between strangled breaths.   
Audrey whispered in his ear, “Little Audrey knows all about you, and dad, and the sick shit going on in this town. But there’s one thing I can’t quite figure out--what the hell is the endgame, Jerry? Just biting necks for the fun of it? I know you and Dad can be all id, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is one of your trademark dastardly schemes. So fess up before you’re dust in the carpet.”  
“I-it was all Ben’s idea, he came to me--”  
Audrey rolled her eyes. “Yeah, story of your life. But who gave him the idea?"  
“He-- Jesus, Audrey, your acupuncture could use some work, you’re killing me here--”  
She plunged the stake further into his back and he gasped in pain. “You were saying?”  
Jerry laughed humorlessly. “He, uh, wouldn’t tell me.” Jerry sounded disappointed. “Just said that this was coming from the top, and we best hop on the bandwagon quick before we end up, uh, feeding the bandwagon.”  
Audrey furrowed her brow. That was all she needed to know. She plunged the stake through him and stepped back as he disintegrated into a pile of dust at her feet. She sighed. “Sorry Uncle Jerry. You never learned, did you?"   
She retreated into the dark lobby, trying to not cry at her realization.  
She took the keys to one of her father's cars from under the concierge desk, hurried into the parking lot, and drove off into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shelley parked her truck down the tree lined road, in the secret bank of trees where she would make Bobby hide his car. They had spent hours in the backseat of his car, making out, making love, back when secrecy was half the excitement. An affair was a dangerous thing in normal circumstances, but with Leo and his jealousy, it was nearly deadly. Until the secret was out and she and Bobby could be in love, publicly, with Leo the vegetable no longer a threat.   
Shelley sighed, and climbed out of the cab. It seemed the forest was breathing around her, the soft mist enveloping her ankles like a gentle exhalation. That was Shelley, always ricocheting from one man to the next, ever since she hit puberty. “You’re so beautiful,” they’d always say, softly, in her ear, like it was a password to unlock her heart, her legs. And eventually that was all she was--she couldn’t remember who she was when a man wasn’t telling her what she needed to be.   
She traipsed through the woods, thorny brambles slicing up her ankles. Small blood droplets stained her pink socks. Soon, the house was in view--the lights were on, and she saw Leo’s shadow moving ghoulishly past the window. The very sight made acid bubble up at the back of her throat, but she swallowed it down. For once in your life, she thought, be brave.   
The rear of the house was like a carcass picked clean, wooden bone framing draped in plastic. Remnants from a renovation Leo began when they were newlyweds--his dedication to the project faded along with his affection for her. Shelley slipped in silently through a slit in the plastic, attempting to quiet her breathing. She could hear Leo muttering to himself, whispering violent things. Shelley’s breathing became shallow, as her heartbeat began racing. She felt the cold metal of Bobby’s gun against her breast.  
Leo heard the rustle of plastic sheeting behind him, and turned to find Shelley holding a gun aimed at his head. Her hands were shaking slightly but her eyes held no trace of fear.   
“Shelley…” he managed to stammer, his face unreadable.  
“Why couldn’t you just stay dead, Leo?”   
He approached Shelley with an outstretched hand, his intentions unclear, but Shelley didn’t let him get far. She popped off a round that grazed his hand, and he flinched back in pain and anger. But beneath the anger, Shelley could see something akin to betrayal.   
“What are you, scared?!” Shelley asked, her voice breaking. “Good.”  
She pulled the trigger and put a bullet in his head, and tears clouded her vision as she just kept pumping out rounds, again and again, until the clip was empty.   
After a moment of disbelief, Shelley wiped the tears from her eyes and looked down at her husband riddled with six bullet holes. For the first time in her life, Shelley realized this must be what freedom felt like. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ed brought Norma a glass of milk and saw that she had nodded off in front of the television. She had told him that Shelley would probably be coming to stay with them that night, for an undetermined amount of time. And here she was, waiting up like the girl’s mother, wanting to make sure she arrived safe. Ed looked at the digital clock on the end table--1:45 AM. He shook his head, turned off the television, and draped a quilt over Norma. Ed turned to leave, but looked back at the love of his life, sleeping peacefully. He smiled, and touched her cheek. Suddenly, there was a frantic knock at the door.   
Norma jerked awake, and Ed headed to the door. He opened the door and it swung open to reveal a rain-drenched Shelley Johnson.   
Ed didn't know what to say as Shelley silently walked in the doorway.   
"Are you okay? Did Leo give you any trouble?" Norma asked, her eyes were ablaze with concern that replaced her usual cool demeanor. The quilt was draped over her shoulders but her arms were crossed close to her chest.   
Shelley managed an unconvincing "Yeah." And concluded with,"but I'm tired."  
Ed glanced at Norma, who looked apprehensive.  
"Let's let the girl sleep. We could all use it. She's had a tough and strange day to be sure."  
Norma began to nod, but noticed the blood splatter on Shelley’s waitress uniform as she removed her coat. The blood drained from Norma’s face, and she looked Shelley in the eyes. She reached out and embraced the girl, holding her close as Shelley broke down. Norma whispered, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”  
Ed’s eyes widened in realization. Norma pulled away from Shelley and walked her to the couch.   
“I couldn’t go back to live in that house, I was finally happy, with Bobby! I was finally happy, and then he comes and rips it all away--”  
Norma wiped away Shelley’s tears. “Hey, look at me. As far as I’m concerned, Leo packed up and left town as soon as the cops set him free. This is not your fault. You never deserved this."  
Ed nodded and gingerly patted Shelley on the shoulder. “In my book you did this town a favor."  
Shelley took a deep breath in and exhaled before saying anything.  
"Um, would you mind if I used your telephone? I just need to talk to Bobby. I think it'd make me feel a lot better."  
"Sure. Anything you need. There's one in the kitchen you can use,” Norma answered warmly.  
"Thanks. For everything."   
Ed yawned. "We're going to bed. It's long past my bedtime but just knock on our door if you need anything." Shelley nodded, and began dialing.   
Ed put his arm around Norma and they walked off to their room. “I never thought Shelley had it in her,” Ed whispered.   
Norma shook her head. “If I were her, I would have done it years ago.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura heard a knock at the door. She rolled over and saw on the digital clock near her bed that is was 2:23 AM. Donna stirred beside her--Dr. and Mrs. Hayward thought she was spending the night with some new pal she met at school. Laura wasn’t particularly angry at a visit from someone at such a late hour. She wasn’t sleeping much lately anyway.   
Armed with her axe, Laura crept down the stairs in her nightie, checking in on Margaret on her way. She was a very heavy sleeper, apparently, as she snored on unperturbed.   
Laura reached the door and peeked through the peep hole, only to find a frantic Bobby Briggs standing on her porch, smoking a cigarette and rocking back and forth uneasily. She pulled open the door and barrelled in.  
“Jesus, Bobby, it’s the middle of the night! What’s wrong?” She placed her axe near the door frame.  
Bobby couldn’t keep still and was on the verge of hyperventilating. “I, uh, I need your help. Actually, S-Shelley and I need your help... “  
Laura shot him a reproachful look.  
“No, Laura this is serious! They found Leo today, and Truman and his boys dropped him at the house, and… Laura, Shelley shot him. In the head. Six times.”  
Suddenly, a light appeared at the top of the stairs. Donna stood gazing down on the two of them, rubbing her eyes and asking “What’s going on?”   
Laura disregarded the question. “What the hell got into her?! What, she just snap?”  
Bobby looked at her slack-jawed, and then a look of understanding came over him. “You didn’t know?”  
“Know what?!” Laura and Donna asked simultaneously.   
Bobby placed his hands on Laura’s shoulders. “He beat the shit out of her on the daily. I never seen a more sadistic motherfucker than Leo Johnson. Shelley would, I don’t know, look at him wrong, and she’d be out of commission for days, Laura!”  
Laura went quiet, and her eyes unfocused. Bobby let her go and began pacing the room. “She calls me from Norma and Ed’s, saying the body is still leaking blood in the living room. And…”  
“We’re going to help you bury the body,” Laura said softly, her eyes still glassy.  
Bobby sighed, and looked at her. “Thank you. God, thank you so much Laura.” He reached out and pulled her into an embrace. “She had no choice,” he whispered.  
“I know,” she answered. And she did, better than most.   
At that moment, Audrey Horne burst through the door. Laura and Bobby pulled apart to look at her, and she stopped when she saw the scene before her. She chuckled smugly. “I knew you just couldn’t stand to keep your hands off each other for long.”  
“Jesus Audrey for once in your life…” Laura muttered as she retrieved her axe from near the door.   
“Well if not that, what the hell is going on?” Audrey asked, exasperated.   
“We’re getting rid of a body, apparently.” Donna said sharply, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall and rolled her eyes.  
They headed out to the shed to grab some shovels. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Laura and Audrey lit cigarettes as they all got into Donna's car, excluding James who was taking his motorcycle.   
Donna looked over at Laura from the driver's seat.  
"Roll down the window. And give me one."  
"Yes, ma'am. But when did you start smoking?"  
"I only smoke when I have to do things like bury a body," Donna muttered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.   
They made the short drive to Shelley's, puffing away in silence, caught up in their own thoughts. Bobby tapped Laura on the shoulder and she absentmindedly passed him her cigarette for a few drags.  
When they got out of the car Laura went right into leadership mode. "James," she snapped, "you, Bobby, and I are the strongest, we'll go in for the body. Donna, clean out your trunk. Audrey, try not to gawk so much."  
The inside of the house stank profusely. Leo's body must have already started to decay.   
James threw up into the kitchen trash can.  
Laura frowned at him. “What, never seen a dead body before?”  
She stared down at Leo’s body. His face was obliterated, now only a mess of blood and muscle tissue. Laura got lost staring into the gore, her cheeks burning and hot tears clouding her vision. Bobby tentatively reached out to her, but she brushed him off and recoiled. “I’m fine.”  
“You don’t look it,” Bobby answered.   
“Look, we’re here to get rid of it, so let’s get it done,” Laura snapped, and Bobby dropped the subject. James gathered himself and ripped some plastic sheeting from the renovated area. He nodded tersely at Bobby, who reluctantly snatched the plastic from James and laid it out beside the body.  
“Yeah, thanks, Drac.”  
Together Laura and James hoisted Leo’s body onto the sheeting, and Bobby rolled the body up.   
Laura gazed down at the corpse. “Wrapped in plastic,” she mumbled, and her mind flashed to the rocky beach point by the Martell property. Her knees felt weak and shaky, and for a moment she couldn’t feel anything, like her whole body went numb. Laura wobbled for a moment, lightheaded, and fell sideways to lean on James.   
She immediately sensed how tense he was, and looked up to see his jaw clenched, and his face contorted and strained. Laura immediately stood upright and backed away, noticing his clenched fists, shaking with tension.   
“Hey hey, what the hell is wrong with you two?” Bobby asked, stepping between Laura and James.   
“Nothing,” they both said tersely, refusing to make eye contact.   
“Look,” Bobby said. “Both of you, cut the bullshit.”  
James was staring down at the giant puddle of blood staining the hardwood floor, his pupils dilated to the extreme, so his eyes were black pits. He didn’t seem to hear anything Bobby was saying.  
Bobby looked from the puddle of blood to James, and he pulled a stake from his belt loop. “You maybe wanna back away there, friend?” He pushed James in the chest, which snapped James out of his dark reverie. As he turned to Bobby, his face changed--  
His fangs jutted out. Both Laura and Bobby tensed, ready to attack. And for a moment, it seemed like James was blank and wild, the monster he harbored ready to be unleashed. But, with visible effort, James ripped himself away from the two of them, retreating to the corner of the room, away from the body.   
“That’s right, bat boy,” Bobby taunted smugly. Laura jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.   
For the first time, Laura could see how much torture he was in, cowering there in the corner, fighting with everything he had not to hurt anyone. James was always kind of dumb, and kind of insufferable, but he was never, ever cruel. And Laura was beginning to realize that no matter what you become, the person you were dictates everything. She had to learn that the hard way.  
She approached him, cautiously, one hand outstretched. He flinched when she touched him. “Hey,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to do this. If you’re still up to help we need someone to go dump the big rig, somewhere no one will find it.”  
James nodded tersely. “I know a couple’a those.”   
Laura smiled. “Thanks, James.”  
James crossed the room to the exit, shooting Bobby a dirty look as he went. Bobby returned the gesture with gusto.  
After James had departed, Bobby asked, “Why the fuck are you giving him the time of day? He’s the kinda monster you’re built to dust.”  
Laura flipped her hair dismissively and began to pick up the body. “Because he’s not like Ben, or those other goons. He’s James.”  
Bobby rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay, just don’t come crying to me when his fangs get stuck in your neck.”   
Laura pulled out her stake threateningly and Bobby quickly fell silent.  
"Bobby, you forget humans can be just as dangerous as the undead. God knows you sure can be."  
"That's not funny, Laura."  
Laura shrugged. “I’m not laughing. Now help me get this piece of shit in the trunk.”

Laura and Bobby and Audrey and Donna all stood over the body, Donna’s car headlights illuminating the small clearing. They were miles from town, miles from the nearest house. They all stood smoking cigarettes, spitting smoke up at the stars, contemplating what they had gotten themselves into.   
“Anybody done this before?” Audrey asked, in an attempt to break the silence. Her attempt at humor died in the air when Laura and Bobby shifted uncomfortably. “Jeez, sorry I asked…” she mumbled.   
“How many shovels did we bring?” Donna asked, trepidation in her voice.  
“Two,” Laura answered with a sigh. “So we pair off in shifts.”  
“Well only one of us has super strength,” Audrey spat dismissively.  
"Two, actually." She shot a look at James, who was emerging from the darkness of the forest.   
James cleared his throat. "Looks like we're up first."  
She tossed him a shovel, which he caught handily. “You sure you can handle this?”  
James gave her a tired look and nodded. In the harsh light of the headlights his face looked even more gaunt than usual, the hollows of his cheeks dug deep, and his under eye circles heavy.   
James stared back at Laura and she looked a ghost of her former self. Veins bulged at her brow and she wouldn't look James in the eye. She was much paler than he remembered, even in the end. These working nights, worrying about the weight of the world on her shoulders, they were taking their toll on her.   
She sighed and swung the shovel full of dirt over her shoulder.”What, don’t just stare at it, bury it…”  
James began digging. He checked that the others were out of earshot. “Thank you, for earlier. I sorry you, uh, had to see me that way.” He burned with hot embarrassment, shame. “No one should ever have to see that.”  
Laura stopped digging for a moment and looked at him. “Hey, comes with the territory. You didn’t make the rules. You didn’t ask for this. None of us did.”  
They dug in silence for a few minutes, the distant voices of the others barely audible. Then Laura spoke--“I’m sorry for how cruel I was. Before. I was resentful. Hell, I was resentful before what happened in that train car.”  
“I should have been there to save you,” James answered, clearly, certainly.   
Laura laughed and shook her head. “And I should have been there to save you. But here we are."  
They fell silent for a moment.   
"I never stopped loving you, Laura."  
Laura continued digging without answering. James immediately regretted voicing his feelings, until she asked, “When it happened, did you make it to the other side? Heaven, or hell, or... Did you die, then come back, or what?”  
James thought for a moment. “I guess, but I was conscious the whole time. Like I was trapped in my own body. I couldn’t move, couldn’t see, couldn’t hear. But I was there, screaming. It felt like an eternity. And then little by little, I woke up.”  
Laura was taken aback. “I-I’m sorry. That sounds terrible…”  
“What about you?” he asked.   
“It was like I woke up from a terrible dream and I was alive again. But, the dreams never stopped."  
She paused.   
"Do you ever dream of being dead? Of a dark room of spirits?"  
James shook his head. “I don’t dream. I wish I could. I can't even sleep most days. But mostly I wish I was dead, truly this time.”  
Laura nodded. “I know what you mean. I used to feel that way all the time. For me, things got better after I died for real. My real life was the nightmare and I finally woke up.”  
James looked up at her. He almost looked human again. "I'm just glad all of you are still here for me after all I've done. Maybe we belong dead."  
She dropped her shovel, wiping tears from her eyes. “Yeah, but life always finds a way to fuck everything up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Shelley had made the Double R diner spotless. Closing time went a lot more smoothly when she knew she didn’t have to go home to look after Leo. Instead, she was stepping out in front of the diner into the hot night air and lighting a cigarette.   
The previous night she called Bobby in tears, begging for help, and he did. He didn’t ask questions, he just made sure she was okay. That’s what a man should be, Shelley thought. Love, unconditional. It was even more endearing because she and Bobby hadn’t seen each other as much as she would have liked in recent days. After his stint missing, he was scarce with details--the only thing she got out of him was that some strange men, like the one who jumped him the other night, had held him at the Northern. Shelley had told him to call Sheriff Truman, but he brushed it off, said he could handle himself. Still, she could see the bruises. She knew what abuse looked like. And the thought of losing him, the one person she could depend on, the one person she loved...She could hardly imagine going through life alone.  
Bobby had saved her from the horror of Leo before but who could save him when he disappeared for days?   
When Bobby finally arrived in his convertible the humid air had made her work uniform stick to body. She climbed into the passenger side and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.   
“Have a good day at work baby?” Bobby asked.  
“Better than I have in as long as I can remember,” she beamed. Then she noticed he was driving the wrong direction, away from Ed and Norma’s. Her gut tightened into a knot, and panic overtook her for a moment. She had to remind herself--this is Bobby. Her Bobby. She could trust him.   
“W-where are we going? Bobby?” Though she tried to suppress it, her voice betrayed her alarm.   
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” he reassured her, grasping her hand. “Just a little detour. Trust me.” He kissed her knuckles.  
Shelley fiddled with the hem of her uniform, and managed to stammer out “Thanks, for last night. Did everything, uh, go alright?”  
Bobby ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Shelley. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t go making a habit of dropping bodies.”  
Shelley blushed and turned away.   
Bobby sighed, and touched her face softly. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I know it hasn’t been the easiest road for us lately, but I’d do anything for you. Anything.”  
Shelley nodded, and said quietly “I know.” Then after a moment, she asked. “What’s going on, Bobby? Where are we going? Please don’t keep secrets from me.”  
Bobby waved his arm out the open window, feeling the cool night air through his fingers. He frowned. “Shelley, things have never been normal in Twin Peaks. But lately, it’s gotten worse. Dangerous.”  
“Are you talking about what happened to you at the Northern? And the attack before that?”  
Bobby nodded. “You know those monster movies we watch on Saturday nights?”  
Shelley chuckled. “Be serious Bobby!”  
“I am serious!” he retorted, no hint of irony in his voice. “All that shit you thought was make believe. Well it’s realer than you think. And you’ll have an easier time believing me once we get to the meeting.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shelley sat in shocked silence in the corner of Margaret’s living room as she watched the reanimated corpse of Laura Palmer talk about vampires and spirits and everything Shelley imagined was under her bed as a child. Bobby was by her side, holding her hand and stroking her hair and giving her reassuring glances.   
“So we haven’t had any more incidents with Ben Horne as of late but that doesn’t mean he isn’t up to something. We should all keep an eye out, especially you Audrey,” Laura instructed.   
“Oh!” Audrey gasped suddenly, making everyone in the room jump.  
“Jesus, Audrey, what?” Laura answered.   
“Last night, I came over to tell you--before other, um, pressing matters took precedence…” She shot a withering look in Bobby and Shelley’s direction. Bobby promptly flipped his middle finger at her, where Shelley couldn’t see.   
“Anyway,” Audrey hissed. “I had a very unfortunate little run in with my uncle Jerry last night, which ended in him a teeny bit disintegrated. But before I dusted him, I got some pertinent info--supposedly dear old Dad’s instructions come from the top. Which I can only assume to mean our special Agent. Or the one formerly known as Dale Cooper.”  
Laura raised her eyebrows and a surprised silence fell over the room.   
“What?!” Audrey asked. “I can be useful!”  
“I’m impressed Audrey. Good job. Plus, this confirms my suspicions. Dale is pulling the strings. Seems like he’s bending over backwards to cause trouble in this town.”  
“But why?” Donna asked. “What could be the endgame?”  
Laura shrugged. “Those spirits that thrive on darkness, chaos, pain, and despair. It could be as simple as that. But I have a sneaking suspicion that there’s more to this story. And we need to find out ASAP, before things get any worse.”  
“I’ll try to work my connection with the Bookhouse, see if Uncle Ed is privy to any of this,” James intoned quietly from the doorway.  
Laura nodded, her gaze lingering on James before she snapped her attention back to the group. “Anything else? Any of you got some secret intel you would like to share with the group?” She glanced pointedly at Audrey. "Um, you think you could do me a quick favor?”  
Audrey gave Laura an apprehensive look but answered,"Sure."   
"I need you to do some recon. I know what a sneaky little shit you can be."  
Audrey nodded. “Eavesdropping is my specialty. Dad’s probably waking up from his eternal slumber just about now, so if I may be excused…”   
Shelley turned to Bobby. “I think I’m gonna catch a ride home with Audrey if that’s okay.”  
“Of course, baby.” Bobby’s brow furrowed. “You alright?”  
Shelley smiled sadly. “Not really.”  
Audrey grabbed her purse and was headed towards the door. “If you’re coming, come on.”  
“Go get the car running Audrey, I need to talk to Shelley for a minute,” Laura interjected. Audrey rolled her eyes, Bobby frowned, and Laura walked Shelley out to the porch.   
Shelley was visibly nervous, fidgeting and avoiding eye contact. “What?” she mumbled.   
Laura placed a hand on Shelley’s shoulder, and then suddenly embraced her. Shelley’s eyes widened and she stiffened under Laura’s touch, but she soon relaxed and returned the embrace.   
“I. Am. So. Sorry,” Laura whispered, and Shelley broke down. Laura pulled away and looked Shelley in the eye. “You are so important. You never deserved any of this. And Shelley… You won. You’re alive. Remember that.”  
Shelley nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. She laughed quietly, embarrassed. “Thanks, Laura.”  
Laura nodded. “If you ever need someone to talk to, you know where I’ll be.” They embraced one last time, though they were quickly interrupted by an impatient honk from Audrey. Shelley turned and walked to the car, adding, "Hey Laura, remember you lived too."   
She turned and waved goodbye to Laura as Audrey sped away. Laura waved back, leaning against a wooden pillar, and watched until the headlights disappeared into the evergreens. 

Laura walked back into the cabin to find Bobby spreading some blueprints out on the kitchen table. “Hey, got those schematics of the Northern you asked for. Got ahold of ‘em when I was playing private to Ben’s Robert E. Lee.”  
James was standing in the corner of the kitchen, his face impassive. Margaret sat in the kitchen loudly humming and knitting off a massive ball of bright blue yarn.   
“Where’s Donna?” Laura asked.   
James piped up. “She said she had something for us in the attic. Something that will help.”  
Laura furrowed her brow, but was distracted when Bobby gestured for her to come over and look at a detail of the blueprints. 

Donna sat on the dusty attic floor, encircled by six tall candles, their flames casting flickering shadows on the wooden walls. She took a deep breath and opened one of Margaret’s old spell books. “You can do this,” she whispered to herself, repeatedly. “You are capable.”  
Donna opened the musty old tome to the page she had marked with a dried flower. “Munda Mortuis…” she whispered, and closed her eyes.   
“Qui cruciant lucida et vexatos pacatumque animas . Vivis et defunctis requiem et expedit…” Donna’s confidence grew with every syllable, until she could feel the power within her fingertips. “Let those who torment be quelled, and the souls of those tormented set at peace. Let the dead rest and the living prosper.”   
A large cloud of green smoke was forming above the book, but Donna took no notice--she was too absorbed in the spell. “Purificent nos , et quales sunt, videamus metus. Cleanse us all, and let us see our fears as they truly are!”  
Lightning crashed outside the attic window, and the growing cloud of green haze beneath Donna’s fingertips exploded, filling the room. Suddenly the power surged and then the house was engulfed in blackness.   
She spoke the words that ended the spell,"Et ideo spiritualis rectum levatit."  
The air in the room was extremely hot and dry for a moment, as though the room was absorbing the tense energy of the spell.   
Then, a powerful gust came from the book and the power returned.   
Donna collapsed forward, completely drained from the spell. With effort she sat upright once more, and gazed around the room, in awe at her own power.

Downstairs, Laura was readying her axe, James was eyeing the forest outside for enemies despite the thick green fog, and Bobby was gripping his gun, flicking off the safety.   
“The fuck was that?” Bobby said tersely.  
Laura hushed him and whispered, “This could be Ben, or even Cooper…”  
Just then Donna appeared at the top of the stairs and rushed down to the kitchen, exclaiming “It worked!”  
“What? That was you?!” Laura replied, dumbfounded.   
“Yes! I did a spell,” Donna announced proudly.   
“Wait wait wait, we’re doing spells now?” Bobby sighed.  
“No,” Donna snapped. “I’m doing spells, and I’m getting better at them too.” She crossed the kitchen to stand next to James, who squeezed her hand.   
Laura glanced out at the green fog, swirling around the house.   
"What exactly were you trying to do?"  
Donna eagerly explained “I found a spell in one of Margaret’s books that I thought could help us--it seems like all of us are haunted by something or another, and what happened with Leo last night only reminded me of it. We’ve had so much loss, and that kind of trauma doesn’t just go away. The spell was to cleanse us of the negative influence of the dead. I thought it might particularly help your nightmares, Laura.”  
“Nightmares?” James and Bobby intoned simultaneously.   
Laura shrugged them off. “Wow, Donna, doesn’t that seem a little, um, out of your league? I mean, thank you for thinking of me, but…”   
Donna grimaced. “Well it seems like it worked… The book didn’t say anything about this green mist, though,” she added, gazing out the window.   
“Look, I’m no expert in black magic and witchcraft, but a huge cloud of green smoke enveloping the house doesn’t seem like a good omen,” Bobby added.   
Before Donna could come up with a rebuttal, the whole house shook and a low moaning came from the attic.   
They all looked at her wide-eyed.  
The pitch raised as the source of the sound moved down the stairs.   
A figure dressed in black appeared as the sounds began to take on a corporeal form.   
It was Madeline Ferguson.  
Donna clapped her hand over her mouth, and tears jumped to her eyes. Laura’s breath caught in her throat, and James jumped when he saw the figure.   
With difficulty Laura breathed “Donna what the fuck is this…”   
“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Donna stammered. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!”  
Maddy moved purposely towards Donna, never taking her eyes off the girl. She appeared just as she did in Laura’s dreams--intent, focused. Laura reached out and whispered “Maddy…” but her hand went right through Maddy’s shoulder, which dissipated like smoke only to reform seconds later. Maddy continued her slow approach to Donna.   
Donna was panicking, looking from Maddy to Laura to James frantically. When Maddy was a few feet from Donna, she reached out. Donna suddenly turned and yanked on the back door behind her, throwing it open and attempting to escape. When she threw herself into the green cloud, she was repelled back into the kitchen, falling to the hard tile floor. Donna looked up at Maddy’s figure standing over her, and began to cry.   
“What do you want?!” she demanded.  
Maddy shook her head slowly and frowned. “You’ve come so far Donna. But your guilt still consumes you.”  
Donna sobbed and held her face in her hands.  
“Laura and I had the same face but we weren’t the same. You and James just couldn’t grasp that. I was just your stand in, your poor man’s Laura. Because neither of you could face the world, or each other, without her. You had to befriend me, and James had to touch me… You both forgot I was Maddy.”  
Donna glanced at James, who stood stock still, mortified.   
Maddy sighed. “And yet, you never had a responsibility to save either of us. I forgive you Donna. Now for god’s sake, forgive yourself.”  
With that, Maddy evaporated, blowing away as if on a gentle breeze. In her wake, she left the faint smell of vanilla and cherry cola.   
Donna was still shaking, paralyzed, staring at the spot where Maddy stood only moments before.   
Finally, Bobby broke the stunned silence with “I’m thinking maybe you mispronounced a few words?”  
Laura snapped out of her state and gathered herself, attempting to get a hold on the situation. Which was easier said than done when the ghost of her murdered doppelganger cousin just appeared in the kitchen. Maddy’s words echoed in her head, especially that part about James… She glanced up at him, and he was staring at her intently, though he immediately averted his gaze when she met it.   
Laura muttered quietly as the fog outside swirled as hard as ever outside, “This is going to happen again…”  
“No!” Donna shouted. “I didn’t mean for this--”  
“But it will happen again, one for each, deadly knocks on the windowsill,” Margaret said solemnly as she entered the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She seemed wholly unfazed by the events of the evening. “Spirits don’t go down easy, Donna. They lock the doors, and they like to have the last word.”  
Bobby rolled his eyes. “I didn’t come over here to have a little haunted game of spin the bottle with Teen Witch and the Count…”  
“Shutup, Bobby,” Laura countered. “None of us can leave, so it seems, so we’re just gonna have to wait it out.”  
“One for each,” James repeated. “So all of us will be visited.”  
“Yeah, a regular Christmas Carol, huh?” Bobby muttered as he pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and plopped down defeatedly.   
“Well,” Margaret interjected. “I shall make some snacks.”  
“How do we know who’s next?” Donna asked quietly as she joined the others at the table.  
Laura shrugged. “If that was any indication we’ll know soon enough.”

Maybe twenty minutes later, just when they had begun to relax, the smell of hot gunpowder began to fill the kitchen. Each of them visibly tensed, wondering who would be the next visited, or the next victim. The tiles floor of the kitchen seemed to grow hazy in one spot near the center of the room, then it turned dark, taking on the appearance of freshly overturned soil. They all jumped up, shooting each other furtive glances. Only James noticed it at first.   
“There’s something moving there…”  
And there was--the dirt was disturbed, like something was pushing its way up and out from beneath. White slender fingers, then a hand. Donna screamed.   
Bobby’s face drained of blood and his jaw went slack. “Oh god…” he whispered.   
Laura grabbed his hand. “It’s only a ghost.”  
The man climbed out of the hastily dug shallow grave and stood before them. The bullet holes in his chest were still bleeding. He had a bushy mustache and slicked back hair, and Laura recognized him immediately--the drug dealer Bobby shot in the woods that night, a few days before she died. Bobby trembled at the site of him.   
“Bobby Briggs,” the man chuckled darkly, before succumbing to a coughing fit. When he recovered, he raised the hand he coughed into to show Bobby. It was covered in blood and bile. “I’ve had some respiratory problems since our little run in.”  
For once, Bobby was silent. He looked like he might swallow his tongue.   
“What buddy, you’re not glad to see me?” The figure taunted. “I visit you every night, dare you to pull the trigger again and again and again. I’d imagine you’d be used to the sight of me by now.”  
Bobby’s jaw clenched and unclenched as he tried to stammer out a response. “I-I’m sorry,” he managed to say, his voice low and gruff and hollow.  
“Oh, you’re sorry,” the man mocked with a nasty grin. “Sorry bub but that doesn’t quite cut it. And it never will. Maybe you won’t see me in your dreams so much and maybe you can get through your day without feeling that itch in your trigger finger or the recoil of that gun but you bet your ass I’ll be waiting for you on the other side with a big shit-eating smile on my face. Then we’ll see who’s sorry.”  
With the bang of an echoing gunshot, the man was gone. The floor was again solid linoleum. Bobby let out a ragged breath and collapsed into the chair, leaning forward to put his head between his knees. The others silently sat down at the table, collectively exhaling a held breath. Donna and James gazed at Bobby with new eyes, and when Donna looked at her Laura shook her head slightly. The oven dinged, and Margaret entered to place the boysenberry muffins on the table to cool.   
“Some spells stab the heart like obsidian glass, dark and sharp. Others seem to offer something sweet and kind but sidestep into the blackest of shortcuts. This spell is both,” she said as she removed her oven mitts.   
Donna sighed and placed her head in her hands. “I’m so sorry, I never meant for this to happen--”  
“We know, Donna,” Laura reassured her. “You were trying to help.” Laura tried to sound like she meant it. Her stomach was burning and gnawing with dread at who would come to visit her.   
In an attempt to change the subject she asked “Margaret, will you be visited?”  
Margaret shook her head. “I should think not. This spell is for those plagued by memories of the dead. I see my dear one each and every day. This is not unusual.” She patted her log lovingly, and for the first time they understood just who it was she was talking to all the time.   
“Well, two down,” Donna sighed.   
“And two to go,” James finished, looking Laura in the eye.   
At that moment, a low rumbling sounded throughout the house. The vice on Laura’s gut tightened. “Looks like this one is impatient…” she muttered.   
Suddenly the light in the kitchen flickered and cut out. When it returned, the light was a deep, dark red. A ghostly tune sounded and seemed to float through the air, crackling like an old record player. Laura’s throat went dry and tears clouded her vision. She felt someone grasp her hand, and she flinched away, only to see it was Bobby.  
“It’s only a ghost,” he whispered. He wouldn’t let go.   
Laura swallowed back the tears and nodded, turning to face the apparition with a determined grimace.   
Leland Palmer came dancing around the corner in an argyle sweater vest, his eyes closed and arms swinging as if he were savoring the tune.   
A broad smile stretched across his face as he opened his eyes a few feet from Laura.   
She gasped breathlessly and threw her hand over her mouth.   
"Remember when you were little and you would dance with me, Laura?"  
She didn't answer him.  
"Still have time to share a dance with your dear old dad?"  
Laura couldn’t speak but shook her head furiously, her teeth clenching together.   
Leland’s face turned serious. “Please Laura. Don’t be bashful. You'll hurt my feelings.” It sounded like a threat. “You only ever have one father, you know."  
He shrugged.   
"Very well. I know I will make you dance with me some day."  
He stopped dancing briefly, stepping directly in front of Laura but she closed her eyes, only wishing the charade to be over.   
He whispered in her ear, "Even if I have to wait for your mortal flesh to rot, you will join me again in the searing eternity of the Black Lodge."  
When Laura opened her eyes again, Leland's eyes were solid white, as was his hair. But his expression was black as night.   
Amused at her horror, Leland began to chuckle softly. “Darling daughter…” His smile dropped and he became furious. “You can't win.”  
He then opened his arms wide, and for a moment looked to the sky in complete joy. Then he brought his hands together to make a sickening crack and flash, like lightning and the sound of a fine china set smashing, inches from Laura’s face. With that, he was gone.  
Donna sprung from her chair to comfort Laura while James fidgeted awkwardly, fighting the urge to reach out at the risk of seeming inappropriate.  
Bobby broke the silence. "So, just one left,” he said in a hollow voice. They each turned to look at James, who avoided their gazes.   
“Don’t keep us guessing, James, who’s yours gonna be?” Laura asked, already putting up her armor, redirecting her pain into vindication. It was easier that way. She was too vulnerable right now to let the focus remain on her. Laura knew she had to be strong. That was her job now, after all.   
James just shook his head. and walked purposefully towards the front door.  
“James, we already tried that--” Donna called after him, but he was already unlocking the door and flinging it open. Except on the doorstep he found not escape, but his own spectral tormentor.   
The wind blowing outside shattered the windows and the fog penetrated the house. Laura, Bobby, and Donna all rushed into the foyer.  
The spectre rose slowly from the crumpled heap on the porch. The figure was that of a disheveled older man, thin and wrinkled, dressed in dirty rags. He was frowning, his eyes pleading. His throat had been torn out.  
James recoiled, falling into an end table and shattering a vase. Even when he was on the floor, his arms lacerated and bleeding, he scrambled backwards, desperate to escape. The man simply walked forward, slowly, reaching out towards James, who by now was frantic, like a cornered animal.   
The man fell onto him as his body became rigid and cold with death while James struggled to escape from under the corpse. Even with all his newfound strength, James couldn’t seem to pull the man off him. The swirling green fog was enveloping them.   
James yelled for help and Laura caught his hand as he reached up out of the fog.  
In the same instant, the fog and the entity disappeared completely, leaving James shaking in fear and repulsion on the floor.  
The house was now in its former state. The windows were repaired and the door was closed and it was just them now, their sins laid bare for all to see. Donna was crying.   
“But you said you never , you promised me you never--” Donna gasped between sobs.   
James slowly got up from the floor, his hands balled into tight, shaking fists, and his eyes burning with shame.  
The Log Lady entered the room with a broom and dustpan.   
Donna ignored her. “Who was that James?! Who?!” Her voice had a hysterical edge. Laura and Bobby looked at their shoes.  
“A drifter, in Vegas. I fed on him in a daze, I couldn’t help myself. I was dying, I was driving through the desert, I was still confused as to what I was or if I was. And we were miles away from town in the dark hours of the morning..."  
James knew nothing he could say would justify what he did, and the more he explained the more he sounded like he was making excuses.  
"I'm sorry. The whole thing seems like a terrible nightmare. But it's true, at times I can be more beast than man and... I'm ashamed of that."  
Donna softened. She knew she should run out that door right now and never see this man again, but she also knew she never would.  
Laura stormed out silently to have a cigarette. She had enough of her own problems right now to worry about James. Bobby followed suit.  
Outside, puffing away, Laura started to let down her guard. Slowly, tears began rolling down her face. She didn’t try to hide them, she just let them fall. She didn’t care if Bobby saw. She didn’t care about anything anymore.   
“Hell of a night to tell all your secrets, huh?” Bobby asked darkly as he flicked his lighter on and off, on and off. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that, and I’m sorry for you,” he muttered.  
“I knew all your secrets, Bobby. I wasn’t surprised.” Laura responded, closing her eyes as the cold night air caress her face.   
Sometimes when she closed her eyes she almost felt dead again.  
“I didn’t… I meant… I knew who killed you but I didn't know it was like that. I didn't realize…” Bobby began.  
“Please, just stop,” Laura retorted, opening her eyes again. She wasn’t angry, just tired. "I couldn't expect you to understand. That's why I never told you in the first place."  
Laura took a deep, long drag. “Like you said. They’re only ghosts. Ghosts can’t hurt you. Those things that happened... They're all behind us now."  
To Bobby, she almost looked hopeful, her face awash with moonlight.  
She was letting go, and unlike before, it didn't take her to the edge. She hadn't been driven to the extremes of sex and drugs, empty thrills to numb the pain.  
Bobby realized this was the real Laura Palmer, the girl that had to hide under so many layers of armor that she forgot who she was underneath. The girl who had put on so many faces might have finally remembered which one was really her's.  
They didn't say anything. They didn't need to.  
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, James came through the front door to join them on the porch. When Laura saw it was him, she sighed and extinguished her cigarette, moving past him to go back into the cabin without so much as a second glance. James clenched his jaw and threw his leather jacket over his shoulder, slipping it on.   
Bobby shrugged. “Hey, don’t sweat it. She’ll come around. How’s Donna?”  
James frowned, wondering whether this was some sort of joke. “She needs to be alone for a while…” he responded tentatively.   
“Yeah I feel like we could all use a bit of that,” Bobby answered, before offering James a smoke. James shook his head. “Oh c’mon, live a little! God knows it can’t kill ya.”  
James reluctantly took the cigarette, and let Bobby light it. “You think they’ll ever forgive us?” James muttered.  
“Who?” Bobby looked James in the face for the first time. “The girls? Or our special friends that came for a visit? God?”  
James shrugged. “All three, maybe.”  
Bobby clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t look so glum, man. At least you acted out of instinct. Survival. You almost didn’t have a choice.” Then Bobby went quiet, and stared up at the stars. “Not like me. I made the choice to be a coward. I was weak.”  
James didn’t know what to say. Here was this guy who had tormented him, framed him, attacked him, spilling his guts. Now, at least, they have something in common. “Here’s to making better choices,” James offered quietly.   
Bobby smiled sadly, and nodded. “Here’s to trying.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Audrey stood outside her father’s office, holding her hands interlaced tight behind her back to stop their shaking. She could hear her father bloviating inside, maybe to himself--he always did like the sound of his own voice. Despite everything else, that hadn’t changed. She took a deep breath and opened the door.  
“Daddy?” she offered with trepidation, peeking around the large oak door. Audrey found him sitting behind his massive desk, peeling an apple and talking to himself. All she caught before he quieted was “...those meddlesome Canadians…”  
But once he noticed her he went rigid, like he had been caught in the act of something dastardly. He slowly sat the apple, along with knife, down on the desktop. “Audrey,” he replied slowly, deliberately, leaning forward. “Come in, sit down. How is my little girl as of late?”  
Audrey closed the door behind her, and sat in the massive chair opposite her father. “Oh you know, doing a bit of this and that… School.” She shrugged, then flashed her icy blues up at Ben. “I just came in to see what you were up to. You’ve been mighty absent at the dinner table lately. Got some exciting business deals lined up?” She cocked an eyebrow and smirked.   
Ben nodded, “Oh, you could say that…” Then he grinned. “Big things are coming down the pipe, Audrey. Big things.” He cut the tip off a cigar and puffed. After a moment of thought watching the smoke swirl up to the ceiling, he removed and prepared a second cigar, and passed it to Audrey. “I’d say you’re mature enough to enjoy a stogie with you dear old dad.”   
Audrey laughed, and accepted the it. Then her laugh caught in her throat, because for that moment, she had forgotten who her father was now.  
Ben caught this, and jumped on her moment of weakness. “What’s wrong, darling? Something on your mind?”   
Audrey sighed. “I miss you, Daddy. You’ve been so… busy lately. Sometimes I have something funny to tell you, or I want to show you something Johnny drew, or brag about what a good little hotelier I’m becoming, and…” Audrey frowned. “You’re not there.” She surprised herself when she realized her eyes were clouding with tears.  
Ben grimaced. He drummed his fingers on the desktop and felt a twinge of something akin to regret wriggle in his gut. Like a memory of a story someone told him years ago, a shadow in a grainy photograph. “I,” he began, before pausing and beginning again. “I apologize, Audrey. I’ll make it a priority to be more present.” Rather than looking in her eyes, Ben addressed some mid space between them.   
Audrey smiled, then remembered the plan. “What about tonight then?” she requested eagerly. “We could go down to the Double R, get a nice slice of pie to share. Just like old times!”  
Even before she was finished, Ben was shaking his head, slowly, deliberately. “Not tonight, Audrey, my presence is required... elsewhere.”  
“Where elsewhere!” Audrey pouted, goading him. Her father never could resist bragging when he would be rubbing elbows with those important and dangerous. “Could I come?”  
“No!” Ben shouted suddenly, making Audrey jump. He gathered himself, and set his mouth. “The venue is no place for little girls,” he added begrudgingly.   
Audrey would tell the others that her next sentence was motivated by strategy, not the truth--that her temper had gotten the better of her. “Not for little girls, huh? Just grown women then, and lots of them, at your beck and call--”  
Ben slammed his fist on his desk to silence her. The quiet that settled between them was fraught, fragile. Ben rose and began pacing the room. “You are a child, Audrey. And I am your father. And I will not be disrespected in my own home. Not anymore.”   
Despite the fact that she knew he had no shred of humanity left, that he could rip her throat out in a moment’s notice, Audrey stood and approached Ben, staring him in the face mere inches away. “You’re not my father anymore,” she whispered viciously. She immediately headed for the door and slammed it behind her, knowing that she had succeeded in the mission but grieving any last bit of love she had for the man behind the desk. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura had been back just a little over a week and already Bobby was doing crazy things for her again. This time he had been talked into stealing his dad's boat.   
Would he ever learn, he wondered, as he looked across the dock at his unlikely companions.   
James bit his lip as he shook a sleepy Donna awake.   
Audrey tapped her foot with her arms crossed but Laura took the words from her mouth.  
"So are we gonna get this thing into the water or what?"  
Bobby flung his cigarette into the water as Laura threw her axe into the small motorboat. The gang lined up behind it and a few heaves later, the boat slid smoothly into the water. Bobby started and steered the boat. They glided smoothly across the still surface of the lake. The neon lights of One Eyed Jacks already glowed in the distance, illuminating the surface of the lake.   
Laura had armed them all to the teeth with stakes and daggers. She still felt nervous for those around her.   
"Are you all prepared to die for this cause? We're about to enter an actual vampire nest, in hopes of killing them all and going for their boss. We've gotta have each other's backs in there."  
Donna sighed emphatically.   
She said,"I'll be staying in the boat. I've got a spell that will increase your reflexes and reaction time. I'm not much use in battle but I think this will help your odds significantly."  
Bobby laughed darkly. “Yeah, maybe you should hold off on the hocus pocus for now, Sabrina. You may end up doing us more harm than good. Again.”  
Laura elbowed him sharply in the side, and he fell silent. She grimaced, but added. “Ya know Donna, we may need you inside. I won’t let anything happen to you, don’t worry. We just need all hands on deck for this one.”  
Donna nodded reluctantly, and quietly answered “Okay.”  
Audrey piped up with “Dad will be in the brothel area, he rarely bothers with the casino. He never was much for a gamble.”  
“And we can use the backdoor to bypass the casino floor,” Laura added. “Remember, he’ll be in room three. It’s his favorite.”  
Bobby and James frowned and gave sidelong glances at Laura, then at each other, but said nothing.   
They pulled the boat on shore a few yards down from the dock, and disembarked into the woods in case anyone was on watch. Sure enough, they saw two guards standing on the dock.   
“Okay,” Laura whispered to them all as they quietly made their way in the direction of the adjoining cabin that served as the brothel. “If you see fangs, stake it. Simple as that.”  
“It seems almost deserted,” Audrey muttered, and she was right. Usually there were boats and cars all around the property, but tonight it was empty.   
“Maybe Ben was feeling greedy, wanted the whole place to himself,” Bobby shrugged.   
Laura led them to the backdoor, counted them down from three, and burst through the door.   
The brothel floor she knew so well was empty, the doors to the private rooms lining the walls closed. Only one had a do not disturb sign hanging from the door knob--Room 3, just as Laura had anticipated. Ben Horne was a man with very particular tastes, some that were difficult to forget.   
She glanced at Audrey, who was gripping two stakes so hard her hands were shaking. “You okay?” Laura whispered. “You ready?”  
Audrey nodded. “Let’s get this over with.” Before Laura could prepare herself, Audrey kicked in the door.   
Ben Horne was laying on a huge round bed, drinking a glass of what looked like wine, surrounded by every girl who worked at Jack’s. Twenty girls writhed around the bed, all dressed in elaborate lingerie, kissing Ben and touching him. Laura remembered when she was one of those girls, his favorite. Audrey remembered when she almost became his new favorite.   
Ben’s eyes flashed up to the door to find his daughter and Laura Palmer leading a group of high school kids armed with stakes and knives. The girls surrounding him shrank away in fear. He couldn’t help but chuckle.  
“Oh what a shame, my two best girls, having to see me like this. Oh well. One cannot hide their true nature forever.” Ben grinned through sharpened teeth.   
Laura hissed at the boys “Get the girls out of here!” Bobby and James advanced and began shepherding the girls away from Ben.   
“Ah ah ah, gentlemen,” Ben teased with a wagging finger. “Didn’t they ever tell you to stay away from fast girls?” Ben laughed and snapped his fingers.   
With that, all the escorts turned on James and Bobby and their faces contorted into hideous vampiric visages. One punched Bobby in the face and jumped on top of him, while two took on James, who was disadvantaged by his momentary confusion. The other women advanced on the rest of the gang, baring fangs and hissing. Laura caught a glimpse of Ben gathering himself on the bed and looking for an escape. She turned to Audrey-- “Guard the door, make sure he doesn’t leave this room!”   
Audrey nodded, her expression fierce.   
Three girls lunged at Laura, who moved her axe in a fluid circle around her to ward them off. “You know I really wish I didn’t have to do this!” she shouted at the women, some of whom she had worked with. They greeted her with feral growls. Laura grimaced, her brow furrowing. It’s not them, it’s not them, she repeated to herself as she began to hack them to pieces.   
Across the room, Bobby had managed to dust the woman on top of him, and he noticed James struggling with three others in the corner. Two were holding his arms behind his back, while the third was reaching for the stake in his belt loop. Bobby approached from behind and stabbed her in the heart, then James made quick work of the two that were restraining him.   
“Thanks,” James said gruffly.   
“Anytime… Bobby answered absentmindedly, attempting to analyze the situation. He locked eyes with Laura, who was choking one with her axe handle while kicking another away.   
“Help… Donna…” she managed to get out between grunts of exertion and frustration.   
Bobby and James then noticed Donna, cornered by two of the vampires, muttering under her breath while they teasingly lunged and hissed at her. She carried one stake in each hand but seemed too frightened to use them. James nodded at Bobby and went to help.  
Audrey was guarding the door like she was told, and her father was sidestepping the carnage, slowly advancing towards the only exit. He whistled while he went. Bobby saw this, and began to make his way to Audrey, staking and decapitating vamps as he went.   
Audrey’s eyes widened and she began to quiver as her father approached, hot angry tears clouding her vision. Ben saw this and frowned. “Oh darling. Such a shame to see you so sad.”  
Audrey shook her head furiously. “Fuck you,” she spat.  
Ben barked a laugh, his fangs peeking out over his bottom lip. “What a way to talk to your father! But of course, you learned that from me.”  
He was standing directly in front of her now. She glanced to Laura, who was still swamped with attackers. Audrey felt the fear twisting in her stomach like a writhing serpent, but she swallowed hard and tried to banish those thoughts. She had to do this. No one else.   
At that moment, she saw Bobby approaching Ben from behind, covered in dark blood with his finger to his lips. Audrey locked eyes with him and shook her head. “Bobby, don’t!” she hissed.  
“Hmmmm,” Ben said as he turned and caught Bobby’s raised hand, stake at the ready. Ben twisted Bobby’s arm until a crack echoed through the bedroom. Bobby screamed. “You never did have the wherewithal to keep quiet when others were having a moment, son.”  
Bobby dropped to his knees, holding his limp arm close to his side. His stake clattered to the floor at Ben’s feet. Ben clicked his tongue and shook his head. “And here I thought you could be my apprentice, my successor even…”   
Ben grabbed a handful of Bobby’s hair and the boy’s chin with the other hand, lifting him from the floor and readying to snap Bobby’s neck. Bobby closed his eyes and heard the sickening sound of flesh ripping. When he opened his eyes, he found a stake protruding from Ben’s chest, inches from his eyes. Ben’s expression wasn’t one of anger, or sadness, but merely surprise, and then… Something akin to pride.  
“My Audrey,” he whispered, a faint smile on his lips, as he began to fall to pieces. Bobby dropped hard to the floor as Ben became a pile of dust in front of him.   
And there stood Audrey, stake still in hand, breathing heavily with unfocused eyes. “If anyone’s his successor,” she muttered, as she wiped the dust on her hands onto her skirt, “it’s me.”

The boat ride back to town was a quiet one. James was driving the boat, lost in thought, while Audrey was fashioning a sling for Bobby out of part of her skirt she had ripped off. Donna sat by James, feeling the cool water spray coming off the lake on her face. And Laura sat with her arms crossed, staring back at Jack’s neon sign distortedly reflecting off the water. None of them spoke. They knew it should have felt like a victory. But instead it just felt like they killed Audrey’s dad in a whorehouse, which wasn’t a cause for celebration.   
Once they reached shore, Donna kissed James goodnight then hugged Laura goodbye, whispering “Next time I’ll be better.”   
Laura shook her head. “You were amazing. Drive safe, muffin.”  
Donna smiled sadly and got into her car to drive home, yawning as she turned the key in the ignition. Audrey agreed to drive Bobby to the hospital--she said she didn’t feel like sleeping.   
That just left Laura and James, who was mounting his motorcycle and revving the engine. Laura smiled. “Give me a ride like old times?”   
James hesitated, then nodded, a slow smile creeping across his face as he reached out to help her onto the back of the bike.   
They drove on the backroads, speeding through the night. Laura felt the wind whipping through her hair as she held tight onto James. She could feel his coolness even through his leather jacket--they hadn’t been this close since… Laura raised her arms above her head and closed her eyes, feeling the cold air between her fingertips, fluttering her eyelashes. She looked up and saw the stars, so close she could almost touch them. It was moments like this that she was reminded that she was alive.   
James approached the lone stoplight hanging over the deserted crossroads, the same one they encountered the night Laura died. James rolled to a stop at the red light, and looked over his shoulder at Laura. She leaned forward and lay her body against his, holding him close, wanting to feel him, wanting with everything inside her to go back to that night, wishing that she had never let go. The light turned green, but James was reluctant to hit the gas. He could feel her heart against his back, her warmth. Warmth he never thought he would feel again.   
Then he revved the engine and took off quick, jerking them forward. Laura laughed in surprise, and they sped through the forest back to the Log Lady’s cabin.   
When they arrived, Laura dismounted the bike and moved towards the cabin, but James grabbed her hand. “Laura, wait…” he began, and she turned back to face him. They locked eyes, and James pulled her close into a kiss. It felt familiar, and safe, and his lips were cool on hers. Laura pressed into him, felt his hands on her body. She flashed back to the days she was alive, the first time, having men regularly, letting them have her. But this time, it wasn’t to numb her, it wasn’t to kill the goodness inside of her. She didn’t need this to be whole.   
Laura pulled away from James. “No, no, what about Donna...” But James pulled her back roughly, shoving his lips onto hers. Laura tensed, and resisted, but James growled and wouldn’t let go. Laura began to panic, and wrenched away from him violently, shoving him back onto the bike. Laura gasped when she saw that James’ face was contorted, his eyes yellow, and his fangs bared. She recoiled, then hissed. “Get the fuck out of my sight.”   
James’ face changed back to normal, but his expression was one of shame. He refused to meet Laura’s gaze, and sped away into the night. 

Donna was sitting on her bed, illuminated by the dim flicker of her bedside lamp, toweling off her hair which was wet from the shower. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. She had proved to be of little use that night, needed James to rescue her from those… Things. And now no one would trust her with magic, not for a long time. Donna sighed. All she ever wanted was to help.  
A sharp tap sounded at her window. She rose and opened the window, her negligee fluttering in the early morning breeze.   
“Come in,” she told James, and he crawled through the window while Donna returned to sit on the edge of the mattress. She immediately noticed something was different. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her brow furrowed in concern.  
James shook his head absentmindedly and brushed her off. “Nothing,” he said, his voice low and his gaze empty. “I just needed to see you. I needed to show you…” he trailed off and sat next to Donna, plopping down almost defeatedly.   
“Show me what?” she asked, touching his face and guiding it towards hers.  
“I love you, Donna.” His words were sweet but his tone was dark, almost angry.  
Donna cocked her head. “Well I love you too, James. Now what’s all this about?”  
James sighed, and then suddenly kissed Donna, deep and long. She pulled away and gazed at him. His face remained impassive.  
“Let me prove how much I love you, Donna,” he whispered. “Can I do that?”  
Donna stared into his eyes and slipped the negligee off her shoulders. She nodded. 

Donna lay in her crumpled sheets and lit up a cigarette. She had come close with Mike, but she had never imagined it could be this good, could make her feel this… whole. She was intimately aware of her body, and felt a new ownership over herself that she had never imagined before. Donna grinned, her face illuminated by the warm light of her cigarette tip.  
James sat on the edge of the mattress, facing away from her, towards the window. The light of the moon made his figure a black silhouette. His head was downturned.   
Donna placed her cigarette in the ashtray and crawled across the bed towards James. “I love you, James…” she said quietly. She reached out to touch him. “I love you more than anything.”   
Just as her fingertips made contact with his shoulder, James reeled around to face her, backhanding her hard across the face. Donna flew backwards off the bed and into the wall, hitting her head hard on the doorframe of her closet. She cried out in pain and surprise, and coughed out some of the blood that was running from the side of her mouth. Petrified, she looked up at James, who was now standing over her.   
James’ face was horrific, his eyes glowing yellow in the dim light and a cruel smile peeking out from behind his fangs. His warmth, his kindness, what made him James was gone, and Donna could see it in his dead, cold stare. She whimpered, “James…”  
James shook his head. “Oh, Donna. How could anyone love something as pathetic as you?” He barked out a laugh as he retreated across the room to the window. “See you around,” he teased with a sickly grin as he climbed out onto the roof. “Real soon.”


	3. Child of Midnight

GHOSTWOOD GIRL: CHILD OF MIDNIGHT 

Laura Palmer felt as though she were floating, finding herself in a dark room she somehow recognized. She looked down and her skin was luminous, her hands clasped in prayer. Below her was a small figure crying in the darkness.  
Laura also started crying. I'm the angel, she thought.  
Dale Cooper was whispering to the girl below her now, just as she remembered, but behind him a group of four dressed in grey hooded robes were making their way towards her.  
The girl --Laura-- rushed out of the room phasing through the figures, hysterical.  
Undaunted, the group kneeled beneath the angel, their necks craning.  
The light of her body illuminated them as they removed their hood and she could make out their faces. Donna, Audrey, James, and Bobby all looked back at her vacantly, each brandishing a blade.  
Laura descended, her glowing skin fading to its normal shade.  
Donna stood to look her directly in the eye and blankly stated,"You can't save us Laura." She plunged her knife into Laura's side. Laura could feel searing pain and the warmth of her own blood leaving her.  
James then turned to her, with betrayal in his eyes,"It's okay. We all lose in the end." James's knife ran down her arm.  
Next was Bobby's turn. He casually said,"We couldn't save you either." He stabbed her, too, in the shoulder blade.  
Audrey sighed. "Some things you just can't change." The blade of Audrey's knife torn between Laura's ribs and into her heart.  
She awoke with her heart beating furiously and tossed the few remaining hours before dawn, faced with her bleakest thoughts.

Laura made her way downstairs to the kitchen sometime around 5 in the afternoon, yawning. These late nights, the life-or-death fights. They were certainly taking their toll. Her eyes were encircled with dark shadows, and she never felt truly rested. The dreams didn’t help.  
Downstairs she found Margaret bringing in laundry from the line outside, armfuls of fresh linens and towels. Margaret gave her a reproachful yet gentle look, and greeted her with “Hello, late riser. Midnight strolls don’t do well for the constitution. Rest cures all ills.”  
She dropped the basket on the couch and began to fold. “My displeasure to dampen your morning--the log whispers dark news.” Margaret frowned and patted the log, nestled safely in the folds of the sheets.  
“Wait, what?” Laura demanded, pulling on her boots by the door. “What happened, where?” Her voice cracked with slight hysteria. Why couldn’t things ever stay good?  
“Donna, she is hurt,” the Log Lady answered, her eyes downcast. “It seems our opposition has gained another follower.”  
Laura’s breath caught in her throat, and her stomach twisted. “I have to get down to the hospital…” she breathed as she rushed to the door.  
“Wait,” Margaret interjected. “Your face cannot be seen. Disguise yourself. It may be a burden but one must be safe, lest other misfortunes befall you.”  
Laura growled in frustration, storming upstairs to fetch her wig and glasses. “I hate being the slayer!” she shouted as she stomped to her room.  
Margaret nodded, but continued folding the laundry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Now, could you tell us again, what exactly happened this morning, Donna?” Sheriff Truman asked, placing a hand on Donna’s shoulder. She lay in the hospital bed, her head bandaged and her face bruised. She frowned, and didn’t meet his gaze.  
Truman sighed, and began again. “I know this is difficult Donna, but we can help you if you just tell us who did this to you.” His voice was soft and kind, and his gentle eyes made Donna feel less afraid.  
“This person needs to be brought to justice,” added Cooper from Truman’s side. Donna turned her gaze at him. He was cold, unblinking, no emotion breaking across his face as he feigned concern. Laura was right, she thought, he’s wrong somehow. Donna frowned, and had to fight the urge to squirm away from him.  
“I was, uh, I was sleeping that morning, and I heard a sound at my window, like a-a tapping. Then I guess I forgot to lock the window, so they got in somehow…”  
“But how could someone get up to the second floor window, Donna?” Cooper asked pointedly, his unblinking gaze boring into her.  
Donna had to look away. “I’m not sure,” she began hesitantly, “maybe they could have climbed up onto the roof somehow?”  
“Anyway,” Harry redirected, shooting a glance at Cooper. “Go on.”  
Donna sighed. “Um, I turned over and saw someone standing over me, it was too dark to tell who it was… They were big, like a large man. They attacked me, threw me out of bed and into the wall. And then they left,” she ended simply, worrying whether her story sounded believable.  
Harry grimaced. “And they didn’t say anything, didn’t take anything?”  
Donna shook her head. “Well I blacked out, but from what I remember, no.”  
Harry turned to Cooper and shrugged. Cooper stood stock still, staring at Donna. “Well, if you remember anything, just let us know. We’ll let your parents know we’re done, they’re being questioned by Hawk and Andy down the hall. Thank you, Donna,” Harry added as he patted her hand. “Feel better.”  
Donna let out a breath as they exited the room.  
Laura hurried down the halls, turning corners and trying to find Donna’s room. When she finally began to turn down the right hallway, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Cooper and Truman standing outside the hospital room. For a moment, Laura couldn’t move. Just as Cooper turned towards her she collected herself and reversed direction, heading confidently, purposefully away from them. She could feel Cooper’s eyes on the back of her head, and her breathing became short. It was almost as if she could hear him whisper, in BOB’s voice: “Laura.... LAURA…”  
Laura hid in the women’s room, until she peeked out and saw they were gone. She hurried to Donna’s room.  
“Laura!” Donna exclaimed, then checked herself, lowering her voice.  
Laura froze momentarily when she saw her best friend bedbound, her face colored with dark bruises, her head bandaged. Laura shook herself slightly, and rushed to embrace Donna.  
“Hurry,” Donna whispered. “Mom and Dad will be done with questioning soon.”  
“What the hell happened, Donna, what the hell happened?!” Laura struggled to keep her voice low.  
Donna’s throat went dry, and she found it difficult to look Laura in the eye. “It was… It was James,” she answered finally, tears in her eyes.  
Laura attempted to stammer out a response, but nothing would come--she simply opened and closed her mouth, searching for the words.  
“He wasn’t himself, Laura, it was like one minute he was James, and the next--”  
“Stop,” Laura interrupted sharply. “Don’t defend him, not if he did this to you.” Laura’s hands were clenched in tight fists, shaking.  
Donna nodded, a mechanical response. She knew she should agree with Laura, but she didn’t. Not really.  
“What happened? Was it just out of nowhere? Did--”  
“I fucked him Laura, I fucked him, okay?” Donna retorted, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I fucked him and he beat me and then he left. Does that answer your question?”  
Laura went silent, and found herself wiping away a tear from her eye, her jaw clenched so hard she could feel a headache coming on. She simply nodded, and leaned forward, and embraced Donna. They remained like that for what felt like an eternity, Donna crying silently into Laura’s shoulder. Finally, Laura pulled away, and fixed Donna with a steely stare.  
“I will never let him hurt you again.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bobby stood outside Shelly’s door, attempting to smoke with his left hand. It was harder than he thought. His other arm was in a heavy sling, and still ached with every move. He knocked again, impatient, his brow furrowed. He wondered if she wasn’t home.  
But Shelly answered the door soon enough, and invited him in with a sweeping gesture, saying nothing. Bobby tried to kiss her, but she shied away. That should have been his first clue. But Bobby just brushed it off and plopped down on the couch, patting the next cushion for her to join him. She shook her head slightly, silently.  
“Hey, baby, what’s wrong?” Bobby asked, rubbing his eyes. He was exhausted.  
“What’s wrong?” Shelly asked incredulously. “What isn’t, Bobby? What happened to you? I never hear from you, and you just show up, with a new injury or bruise or broken bone, every morning acting like you haven’t slept in thirty years. I’m worried about you!”  
Bobby grimaced. “Look, I told you, Laura needs help, and shit’s hitting the fan right about now, Shelly. What am I supposed to do?"  
She scrunched her face up, searching desperately for her next words. Bobby cut her off.  
“You weren’t asking questions when you needed me to dispose of the hubby,” he muttered bitterly.  
“Stop it, Bobby!” she snapped. “Just stop it! How could you say that to me!”  
Bobby rose from the couch and approached, reaching out to put his good arm around her waist. “God, I’m sorry, okay--”  
She flinched away. “I can’t do this anymore Bobby,” she muttered quietly, facing away from him.  
Bobby was silent for a moment, and retreated away from her. “What’s that supposed to mean? Can’t do this? Us?”  
Shelly nodded, trying hard to hold back tears. "Bobby, you've always been there for me when things got crazy. I love that about you, but I just can’t let that kind of craziness rule me… I was a daughter, then I was a wife, and then I was your girlfriend, and Bobby I don’t know how to be me without you. All these nights you spend helping Laura, I’ve had more and more time to think. I’ve always gone running to men to tell me what they need from me. I need time to figure out what I need, for me."  
Bobby wouldn’t meet her gaze, instead staring at the Invitation to Love rerun on her staticy old tv set. Until finally he began slowly, "Like you said, I was always here for you. And the one time I ask you to do the same for me, you sit here crying and tell me to fuck off. What'd I do, Shelley? What'd I do wrong? Tell me and I'll go," Bobby demanded frowning. He tried to conjure up some anger to mask his sadness. He couldn’t let her know.  
“You didn’t do anything but try to save me Bobby, and I’m so grateful for that. But you and I, we gotta learn to stand for ourselves, or we’ll never stand a chance.”  
Bobby shook his head, his eyes turned downward and unfocused. “Well I guess that’s that, then,” he answered, and headed towards the door.  
Shelly gave him one final look, defeated, as he left, knowing there were no words left to be said. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The tables and windowsills of Donna's hospital room were fully adorned with bouquets of almost every color and gift baskets of several themes. Donna wondered why people in this town only seemed to care when you were injured or dying.  
She regurgitated her formulated story to nearly every person she knew in the town. The small talk fell to awkwardness quickly and they would excuse themselves.  
She was nearly falling asleep when the door creaked again and Donna tensed up.  
"Donna?" a mouse like voice resonated from the other side of the door as it pushed open.  
It was the Log Lady, well, Margaret, log in tow, wearing a big red satchel. She let out a sigh.  
"You must be the last one in town who hasn't come to see poor brutalized Donna," she said, feeling sorry for herself.  
"I actually didn't come here to talk about your physical state. I won't pretend to know how you feel. I came here because I know the only thing that makes humans different from beasts are their use of tools. And I think I have a tool you could use," Margaret declared, as she patted her bag.  
"I made a few calls. Calls I haven't made in a long time to people I haven't talked to in nearly as long. People in circles, circles of people who form a chain, a chain I am no longer a link in--," she continued purposefully until Donna interrupted.  
"Okay... What's all this about?"  
Margaret placed the red messenger bag on Donna’s lap without another word, nodding at Donna to open it. Donna hesitantly began to pull out a few candles, some sprigs of herbs and incense, a few crystals, a vial of ocean water and a vial of rainwater, Donna’s tarot deck, and from the very bottom of the stack a small purple book with a white star peaked out. Donna sniffed as she looked up to Margaret, whose eyes were closed, her face peaceful, and she was nodding.  
“Thank you,” Donna whispered. “But why?”  
Margaret answered by placing a hand on Donna’s shoulder and looking deep, unflinching, into her eyes. “Betrayal and tragedy rot the heart, my girl. But you must fight to not be buried.” She then grasped Donna’s hand, hard, and closed her eyes. Donna broke down. The Log Lady didn’t let go.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Norma cleaned the booths with a damp washrag, closing down for the night. She sighed, and gazed out the large window at the forest outside. It was an unusually clear night, the evergreen needles shimmering in the milky light of a full moon. Well, almost full. They were just a couple days shy.  
Ghostly headlights cut through the night and Norma saw Ed’s truck approaching. He honked and gave her a playful smile, and she gestured that she’ll be out in a moment.  
A loud crash sounded from the kitchen and echoed through the diner. Norma flinched and spun backwards. Though it was eerily still, she had the distinct feeling that something had just escaped her sight out of the corner of her eye. Her breathing became shallow, but she tiptoed silently towards the bar and grabbed the knife poking out of the pie tin.  
She entered the darkened kitchen slowly, and found the back door open, swaying slowly in the night breeze. The deep, rattling sound of heavy breathing sent a chill down her spine. Norma took a deep breath and flicked on the light.  
A hulking dark figure huddled in the corner sprang forward, a wretched and hollow scream emanating from its throat. Norma screamed and fell back, holding her kitchen knife out as the beast hurtled toward her. Darkness filled her vision, and all she could see amidst the black fur was chomping, hideous jaws and somehow familiar deep brown eyes. Norma stabbed and stabbed at the monster desperately, somehow keeping it at bay.  
She shouted in fear when she felt a pair of strong, large hands grab her by the shoulders, and the air was shattered by the deafening crack of a gunshot. The figure yelped and recoiled, crimson blood splattering to the floor before it ran recklessly out the open back entrance.  
Norma turned to find Ed behind her. She immediately buried her head in his chest, whispering “Thank you, thank you…”  
“What the hell was that?” Ed asked, pocketing the pistol he always carries in his truck glove box. “What did you see?”  
Norma swallowed hard, and looked up at Ed with tears in her eyes. “I don’t know, I don’t know…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura walked the backroads of town, between Margaret’s cabin and the Great Northern--even though Ben was gone, that just meant that his goons were free to roam the woods biting necks. Laura had told Margaret she was patrolling, when in really she just needed to get away, to look up at the starry night sky and wonder.  
All she could think of was Donna, sleeping in that hospital bed, tubes in her arms and her head in bandages. Laura’s mind kept flashing to James, her James, after they had made love in the school basement, or at Big Ed’s after hours. She remembered how gentle he was, how kind. And then she remembered that he broke Donna’s face with his fist.  
Laura almost wished she would find a vamp hiding amongst those massive tree trunks. She could stand some killing tonight.  
There had been no sign of James since, and she was getting uneasy. He could be gone forever, or he could be outside Donna’s window, waiting. And the worst thing was, that Laura couldn’t protect anyone.  
The snapping of a twig jerked Laura out of her dark reverie, and she quickly readied her axe, glancing around the pitch black forest. The moon was hidden behind heavy thunderclouds, so Laura was truly relying on her other senses.  
Another rustle of leaves and Laura whipped around, trying to remember the Log Lady’s blindfolded lessons. “Lead with feeling,” she would say. Laura closed her eyes, and centered all her concentration, listening intently.  
A soft, dark chuckle sounded a few feet behind her. Laura spun her axe, only to find it grabbed in the steel grip of the thing on the other end of it. Laura tried to yank it away, but it wouldn’t budge. And then she was yanked forward, coming face to face with James, revealed by the moonlight as the clouds parted.  
He smiled at her humorlessly, his eyes dark and full of intention. “What’s wrong, Laura? Aren’t you happy to see me?” She could feel his cold breath, like a gust of January wind, and she saw his gaze wander to her neck.  
Laura gathered herself and kicked him in the side, wrenching her axe out of his grip and retreating into a fighting stance.  
James groaned and held his side. “I’ll take that as a no…”  
“How could I have been so stupid!” Laura spat. “You’re a fucking monster. It was always a trick, Mr. Sensitive, the ghoul with a heart of gold. I should have staked you that night in Donna’s room.”  
James rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yeah, well, shoulda woulda coulda, babe. And c’mon,” he scoffed. “I wish it was an act. You think I would have wasted my time mooning over that Girl Scout, helping the Bad News Bears clear out the vamp infestation? I’m disgusted with myself.”  
Laura cut him off with a swift swing at his torso, but he dodged it handily. “Too slow,” he teased, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against a tree trunk. “I should have got her to give it up way sooner, but… Well, you know Donna. You need the jaws of life to pry open those legs--”  
The axe came down heavy but when Laura opened her eyes it was buried in the splintered wood where James’ head was just moments ago. She glanced around frantically, until she heard a whisper in her ear, too close--  
“Nice try.” She felt a quick, icy peck on her cheek.  
She flinched and turned to cut him down but he was gone. Until she heard the rustle of leaves above her head. James stood on a tree branch gazing down on her.  
“Oh Laura,” he grinned. “You’re so pretty when you’re homicidal.”  
Laura growled in frustration, and he laughed. “If you’re so into this villain monologue shit, answer me this--what did sleeping with Donna have to do with any of this? You never turned satanic after we did it,” she spat.  
“Don’t flatter yourself,” James retorted, all the levity suddenly vanishing from his voice. He paced along the length of the branch with ease. “One of the vamps I ran with in Vegas, she was a fortune teller, a witch or something. When I was turning--she thought she was doing me a favor, dumb bitch…” he muttered. “She cursed me to keep my soul, that is unless I experienced ‘true happiness,’ or at least that’s what she said. I guess in modern terms that means popping your girl’s cherry.”  
Laura shook her head. “But why?”  
James shrugged. “Guess she was just one of those self loathing vamps, not dissimilar to the old me. Maybe someone had cursed her years ago, and she drank the moral kool aid. Thought we should be punished with that good eternal angst to make up for the fact that we’re soul sucking demons.”  
Laura swallowed hard. “So this is James without a soul, just like all the other vamps.”  
James hopped down from the tree and landed gently in front of her. “In the flesh,” he answered, his eyes black and his fangs showing.  
Sighing, Laura retorted, “Well I hate to say this, James, but I’m gonna have to kill you.”  
James clicked his tongue and shook his head, feigning disappointment. “And here I was hoping we could work things out.” He locked eyes with her. “But there’s one thing you aren’t considering.”  
Laura fixed him with a hateful gaze. “And what’s that?”  
“I know your weaknesses. And the biggest one? Too much hope.” He frowned. “Well, that and a weak grip.”  
With that he kicked the axe out of her hand. It soared through the air, seemingly falling blade down toward her head, Laura following with her eyes, until she finally jumped up and caught it handily. When she looked up again, he was gone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were two empty chairs at the kitchen table, and Bobby, Audrey, and Laura couldn’t bring themselves to look in their direction. Instead they squirmed in their seats. Laura sighed.  
“So now that James snapped, I guess… Our next mission is to search and destroy. We can’t let him live after what he did to Donna.”  
Bobby leaned back in his chair and grimaced. “Did he tell you why, when he confronted you in the woods? Like how could he go from the guy upchucking in the trashcan at the sight of blood to… That.”  
Laura chewed on her bottom lip and remained silent for a minute. Audrey looked from Bobby to Laura expectantly. “He, uh…” Laura exhaled, then closed her eyes and it all came tumbling out at once. “He and Donna slept together which apparently made him lose his soul so now he’s a homicidal maniac demon who’s out to kill us all.”  
Audrey raised her eyebrows and lit up a cigarette. “Yeah well what’s new? Just another day on the Hellmouth.”  
Laura rolled her eyes. “So we know he’s hanging out in the woods on the edge of town. We should patrol in shifts to make sure we catch him as quick as possible, before any other bodies start piling up…” That reminded Laura--she turned her attention to the Log Lady. “Margaret, do you know a spell that will rescind James’ invitation? Nothing’s stopping him from bursting through that door and ripping all our throats out.”  
Margaret nodded and snapped her fingers. “It is done.”  
Laura raised her eyebrows. “Uh, really? Wow, okay, cool…”  
Audrey piped up. “So we’re just supposed to chill in woods until he decides to show up? Cause let me tell ya, Laur, that doesn’t sound very productive.”  
“What, you got any bright ideas,sweetheart?” Bobby retorted, giving Laura a sidelong glance.  
Audrey narrowed her eyes. “Um, excuse me, but I have a hotel to run now, and I’m not used to burying bodies or shooting people like you are, so--”  
Bobby leaned forward aggressively. “You wanna repeat that princess? You think you’re better than me?”  
“Shut up, both of you!” Laura snapped, slapping a hand on the table between them. “Jesus, James almost killed Donna. We could be next, and you guys are acting like fucking children!”  
That shut them both up, but neither would meet the others’ gaze.  
“James will try and pull something again, but we just gotta be there when he does, alright?” Laura sighed. “That’s all we can do.”  
After scheduling their patrol assignments, Audrey took off, saying she had to get up early the next morning to host some flyfishing convention at the Northern. Bobby and Laura waved her off, and she disappeared around the bend in the driveway.  
Laura noticed Bobby was lingering. “It’s just one thing after another, isn’t it?” she muttered, defeated, as she fell back onto the porch swing. He joined her. “If it’s not one monster on a murder spree, it’s another.”  
“Yeah, but ain’t that what we signed up for?” Bobby answered, attempting a smile, but failing miserably.  
Laura shook her head. “I don’t remember signing anything…” she echoed while peeling old chipped paint off the wooden arm rest.  
For a few long moments they didn’t say anything, until Bobby leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Shelly left me.”  
Laura frowned, but just stared the jagged wood grain. “I’m sorry,” she answered softly.  
“Said she needed to figure out who she was. Specifically without me,” he added with a bitter chuckle, a feeble attempt to mask his emotion.  
“Well think about it,” Laura responded. “Leo treated her like he owned her. Then she finds you, someone who treats her right--” she shot a glance at Bobby “--I assume you treated her right. So she’s being told she’s lower than dirt one minute and that she’s the best thing to ever exist the next. You think that doesn’t fuck with someone? She never got to be just Shelly.”  
Bobby shrugged, and slowly nodded. Then quietly, he asked “Was that how it was with you?”  
Laura shook her head adamantly. “I’m not talking about this with you--”  
“Hey,” Bobby offered, “you don’t have to, but I don’t know… Maybe it would help.”  
Laura stared off into the devouring darkness of the forest for what felt like hours, until she finally found her voice. “I was raped by BOB, by my father, since I was 12 years old. I was told I was disgusting, awful, evil, that I deserved it and that I was asking for it. That I liked it.” She sighed. Bobby remained frozen, his eyes wide and unfocused. She didn’t look at him. “And then you came along, and said you loved me, and I couldn’t let myself love you back. I knew I wanted to, but I had hidden that good little Laura, the one who loved things, away where no one could ever touch her…” She trailed off.  
“Long story short,” she suddenly added, in a forced voice, “you got a thing for playing the martyr to fucked up little girls.” She smiled sadly. “And then you hate us when you can’t save us.”  
Bobby wanted to apologize, but he knew it would never be enough. So instead he just looked Laura in the eyes, and asked “Would it be okay if I put my arm around you?”  
Laura was taken aback, and almost answered ‘Of course,’ but instead she smiled, nodded, and said “Thank you for asking.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was approaching dawn, but these days James was pushing it closer and closer every morning. He liked flicking his fingers through the weak early sunlight and feeling them singe and smoke. It reminded him of who he was now, and the pain made him smile.  
The sky was lightening to a gradient of black, to navy, to violet, to lilac over the eastern treetops. Birds began to chirp, and James knew he had 45 minutes, maybe an hour before he’d be fried to a crisp. But as he made his way to the backwoods, century old abandoned cemetery he now called home, he was distracted by a faint whimpering coming from a few yards away. He’d already killed a few truckers that night, but James was always in the mood for a nightcap. His fangs jutted out eagerly, and he smiled.  
Crouching at the foot of a tree, bleeding and licking its wounds, was a massive werewolf. It sniffed the air and turned to James, growling and hissing. James raised his eyebrows, put away his fangs, and grinned.  
“Wow, a real life lycanthrope. Who knew?” he chuckled darkly. “Never thought I’d see the day. Not that I’m surprised, really--I mean, once you go creature of the night, things get a lot less unbelievable.” James paced with his hands in his pockets at a safe distance from the twitching, hissing animal. “Oh don’t worry, I’m not gonna vamp out on you--you’re not what I’d call appetizing…”  
But then the animal began convulsing, howling, and James could hear the snapping of bones reforming. Before his eyes the creature twisted and screamed, until after a few minutes of excruciating agony, Hank Jennings lay in a fetal position on the forest floor, bleeding from the stomach.  
James laughed and shook his head. “Well well well, can’t say I expected this…”  
“Wha… What happened?” Hank panted out breathlessly between groans of pain.  
James approached and clapped Hank on the shoulder, though Hank flinched away. “You, buddy, are a bona fide werewolf. Ya know, a hound of hell, satan’s servant. Cursed to transform at the full moon, though apparently that rule is a bit looser than often thought.”  
Hank looked back at him in horror, his eyes wide and unfocused and his mouth set in a straight line. “How…” he asked hoarsely.  
“Hell if I know,” James shrugged. “Anybody bite ya lately?”  
Hank frowned. “Last thing I remember, I was in my cell at the station, and I hear these footsteps echoing down the hallway… Then I hear the key click open the lock, and I look up and see that FBI man. He was smiling, but it wasn’t friendly. He walked up to me, and… That’s all I can remember. Just that smile.”  
As Hank spoke, James had an idea. A slow smile crept across his face,  
Hank stared at him, his brows furrowing. “You’re not human, are you? You’re something different.”  
James was snapped out of his reverie. “Oh me? Yeah. Let’s just say you Wolf Man, me Dracula.”  
Hank flinched and attempted to scramble away. James grimaced. “Hey don’t worry about it man, you’re not my type. But just as one monster to another, it pays to have friends in the dark.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Benjamin Horne's final will had been read and dealt with. Audrey Horne, like a dream and a nightmare at once, finally had the Great Northern Hotel deed in her grasp. Her eyes grew wide with pride and anticipation as she walked through the huge oak halls, gazing at the place and knowing it was hers to do with as she liked. It felt good. She felt empowered like never before but also she felt bad for feeling so good. She had killed for this. She had killed her father for this. The fullness of her career emphasized the emptiness of her love life. Jack Wheeler hadn't sent so much as a single letter since he left in his private jet.  
First things first, she headed down to the basement level, where her father and those goons had hid out for so long without anyone noticing. Nothing would go on without her knowing about it, and for that she had to know this place as though it were her own flesh and blood. Her success would be her livelihood.  
She was, of course, armed. Many of her father's cronies had already fled but a fool or two may pose a threat to a young woman like herself. And sure enough, after about twenty minutes exploring those darkened labyrinthine halls, she heard some snatched whispered coming from around a corner.  
"Ben's gone. You think we should try to align with a larger power?" a husky voice trailed off.  
Someone spoke smoothly back, more quietly, "And how do you think we should go about that?"  
“We all know who’s really running things in this town! And I’m sure he could always use a few more hands on deck down at Dead Dog Ranch…”  
"He's not exactly accessible or approachable. You know he only deals with the big picture elite of Twin Peaks..."  
Audrey stepped forward. "Who could be more elite than me? I now own nearly half the town, and not to mention I have an, ahem, personal relationship with Agent Dale Cooper."  
Two sets of yellow eyes turned in her direction.  
Audrey swallowed hard but continued, "You boys must be from out of town. I'm Audrey Horne and I think I deserve a little more respect than you're giving up." She tossed the stake up in the air and caught it handily, twirling it between her fingers with a smile.  
"Answers, please. I know how to use this. I killed my family with this stake, after all."  
The big vamp glanced at the shorter one, who shrugged. “Eh, I don’t wanna die tonight. What do you want to know?”  
Audrey smiled coquettishly. “What do you know about Dale Cooper’s influence on this town? What’s he planning? What’s the endgame?”  
"Hell on earth, baby. Or as we call it, paradise," the small one smiled.  
The other vampire clarified, "He's been lurking around the place where the Palmer girl died last year. Rumor has it he's trying to tap into whatever took her out. Some say dark magic, but I don’t know..."  
Audrey raised an eyebrow. “You’re a demon with fangs and you’re choosing to be skeptical on this? Yeah, okay. Any final words?”  
The big one thought for a moment. “Need any henchmen?” he offered hopefully.  
Audrey shook her head, feigning disappointment. “Sorry, hon. All positions are filled. But we are always accepting applications.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Just as dusk was falling, Laura heard a knock at the front door. She placed the stake she was sharpening down on the kitchen table, and approached the door. No one was on the other end of the peep hole. Laura frowned and opened the door, only to find a small white envelope sitting on the welcome mat. She hesitantly reached down to pick it up, glancing out towards the forest. There was no sign of movement. Laura examined the letter--there was no address, and inside was only a small square of notebook paper, which read:

Tonight. The Road House. 7 PM. Come armed. Silver bullets are best.  
\--A friend

“Any idea what we’re getting ourselves into?” Bobby asked, rolling the silver bullets around in his palm before loading them into the revolver.  
Laura shrugged from behind the wheel. “At best, a scrap. At worst, a trap. But hey, we’ve handled worse, haven’t we?”  
“Yeah, but we had numbers on our side those times,” Bobby trailed off, sounding unconvinced. “What’s Audrey up to, other than bailing?”  
“Said she was doing some hotel work, which knowing Audrey means she’s up to something. Let’s just hope it’s something useful.”  
Bobby sighed. “Just Butch and Sundance for the evening.” He spun the barrel and with a flick of the wrist he popped it back into the gun. He squinted one eye and aimed through the windshield. “First vamps, now werewolves… Ya know it’s times like these I miss the days when all I had to worry about was making the football team.”  
“You and me both,” Laura muttered.

James sat at the bar, staring at the beer in front of him while Hank drowned his sorrow next to him. James scoped out the place--six or seven regulars, all working on their blood alcohol level. He checked the clock on the wall.  
“I’m just so glad its over… Until next month anyway,” Hank grumbled, downing the rest of his beer.  
James tried to suppress a smile. “Well, I’m headed to the john, hold down the fort for me, eh?”  
Hank nodded dolefully, while James got up and headed towards the front door. Hank furrowed his brow, and muttered “It’s the other way…” before halfheartedly shaking his head.  
James saw the moon glistening, big and full out the front window and smirked. With deliberate clicks, he locked the front doors, and pulled a heavy table over to block the entrance. The barflys shot him some confused looks, but were too far gone to care. James nodded, smiled, and said “You all enjoy your night,” before heading out the back door.  
“Some friend you are!” Hank shouted after James, frowning. And then, a searing pang tore through Hank’s torso, He grunted in pain, and then panic came over him. His breathing grew short, and he tore himself from the bar, scattering glasses across the floor, which shattered and drew the attention of the customers.  
“No, no… Get out, everyone, get the fuck out of here!” Hank cried before collapsing to the floor, writhing in pain. The men at the bar finally caught on and began backing away, shooting each other frightened glances. Hank began contorting. Screamed obscenities turned bestial, his bones breaking and his body reforming. The men rushed to the front door, banging on the wood and attempting to unlock the strong iron latch, which was warped and stuck. A few rushed toward the back entrance only to find that it was also barricaded. By now the screaming had stopped, and the men slowly turned back to find a massive heaving wolf in the place of Hank. It seemed to be smiling at them, or perhaps it was just baring its teeth.  
Laura and Bobby could hear the screaming before the car doors even closed, and they shared a serious glance and nod before running towards the front doors. The windows were smeared with blood, so much so that Laura couldn’t see inside. She took a deep breath, and kicked with all her might, knocking the door of its hinges. Bobby’s eyes widened, but he followed her into the fray.  
Three men lay in pieces, littering the ground and three more ran from their hiding place in the women's bathroom to freedom. The creature that was once Hank flinched and turned to face them, a man’s leg hanging from its jaws. It growled, and spat out its snack, and lunged at Laura and Bobby. Laura swung her axe and knicked the beast on the shoulder. It whined and recoiled in pain, but rebounded quickly, launching itself onto her, claws outstretched. Laura dodged it handily, but knew she couldn't match its endurance.  
“Shoot it, Bobby! Silver bullet to the heart!” Laura shouted.  
The beast somehow heard her, and turned to Bobby with a snarl. He staggered backwards, but raised the revolver with his one good arm.  
Bobby quaked but his face was resolute. He cracked off a shot which buried itself in the creature’s shoulder, which caused it to step backwards, but didn’t stop its approach. He tried again, this time catching it in the stomach. The beast doubled over, but it got closer and closer each moment.  
“The heart!” Laura screamed, and Bobby calmed his tremors, set his aim, and shot the monster dead in the heart.  
With a sickening howl that deepened into what sounded like the anguished cry of a dying man, the wolf collapsed, returning to its human form for a final time.  
Laura and Bobby stood over the twitching, deformed body, each breathing heavily. Bobby dropped his gun and the silver bullets tinkled to the floor, rolling into the red puddle seeping across the linoleum. He turned to Laura, who was still staring at the thing that was once Hank Jennings.  
“You’ve got blood on your face,” Bobby observed, staring at the crimson spray and splatter.  
Laura returned his gaze. “Yeah? So do you.”  
And before either of them knew what was happening, Bobby was pressing himself against Laura, kissing her like he used to. They stumbled back into the pool table, and he hoisted her up , grabbing behind her knees, to lay her down across it. He felt her legs wrap around his waist and shivered. Laura could taste the lingering shadow of rusty, bitter blood on his lips. It was still warm.  
Touching each other was like revisiting a familiar place for the first time. Underneath their roaming hands, it felt like home.  
“You sure you want this?” Bobby asked, pulling away. “Because I can stop--”  
“Please Bobby,” Laura answered, smiling. “Don’t stop.”  
Only moments later, Shelly heard a knock on her door. She had been sleeping on the couch--the bed seemed too big, too heavy with bad memories. She glanced at the clock: 1:48. The knocking became more and more frantic. Shelly grabbed the gun she had stashed under the couch cushion and approached the door cautiously.  
“James, what are you doing? What’s wrong?” she asked when she saw him behind the screen. He looked petrified, glancing over his shoulders and clutching a stake.  
“Laura sent me,” he answered breathlessly, his eyes wide and darting around the property. “She said there’s been some vamp activity around here, and I need to keep you safe. She made me promise to protect you,” he explained. “Please, let me in.”  
Shelly was taken aback, but quickly nodded. “Y-yeah, of course, come in…” She held the door open wide, he rushed inside, and she locked the doors behind them.  
Almost immediately, James’ demeanor changed. He sighed, placed his hands on his hips, and smiled.  
Shelly furrowed her brow. “What is it?” she asked hesitantly.  
“It’s just funny,” he chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to be that dumb!”  
Shelly’s hands began to shake, and she broke out in a cold sweat. Panic. Shelly raised the gun. “I-I’ve done it before, don’t think I won’t…”  
James cocked an eyebrow and smirked, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, okay Annie Oakley--”  
A deafening bang shattered the air like glass, and when Shelly opened her eyes she saw the white shirt under James’ leather jacket becoming more and more red by the second. He grimaced as he removed his jacket and pulled up the shirt, examining the wound.  
Shelly almost vomited when he dug his finger inside, removing the bullet, which dropped to the floor with a tinny ring. He looked up at her, frowning, and said “Seems I’m made of some tougher stuff than Leo, huh?”  
James pushed Shelly against the wall, buried his fangs in her neck, and drank until he could no longer hear her screams. 

Bobby rolled off of Laura and lay beside her, each of them breathing heavily. Laura turned her head to look at him, and he did the same, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. Laura glanced down at the gory scene on the floor just feet away from them.  
“Why are we like this?” she asked, her eyes lingering on the body.  
Bobby followed her gaze, then rolled onto his side to block it out. “Ya know, I’d rather not linger on that thought. Might kill the mood.”  
She squirmed a bit and turned her head away. Bobby touched her arm. “Hey, no need for that. Just let yourself be happy, for once. You deserve it.”  
Laura sat up and pulled on her shirt. Bobby remained prone on the pool table, interlacing his fingers behind his head and watching her dress. “I’d missed you, Laura Palmer,” he said softly, almost to himself.  
She turned back, standing over him, looking down at the boy she had first slept with when they were 14. A small, hesitant smile spread across her face, more wistful than enthusiastic. Smiling for what could have been, if she wasn’t Laura Palmer. Laura leaned down and kissed Bobby on the lips, slow, gentle. She could feel him grinning. She pulled away. “C’mon. The night’s not over.”

After dragging the bodies out into the wilderness surrounding the Road House, Bobby and Laura decided to head back to Margaret’s cabin. They still had a couple of hours before Bobby needed to be back at his parents’ house, and they thought they may need to talk some things over.  
They were laying on Margaret’s couch, dozing, when they heard it.  
Three sharp knocks, deliberate and slow. Laura sat up, suppressing a yawn and rubbing her eyes.  
“What was that…” Bobby asked groggily.  
Laura made her way to the front door. “Maybe Audrey found something?” But when she opened the door she went cold, limp, and fell backwards, almost collapsing to the floor.  
“What’s wrong?!” Bobby jumped up and rushed to the foyer, only to find Shelly’s crumpled body laying on the welcome mat. Her eyes were lifeless, two giant gashes in her neck, still dribbling blood. A note was pinned to her blouse.  
Bobby’s knees gave out from under him, and his vision blurred. He reached out, hand trembling to touch Shelly’s face, her hair… He glanced at the note, and opened it with difficulty.

More where this came from, kids.  
\-- J

It was the second time in the past few hours that Laura had found herself with a body in front of her. She sat on the edge of the couch, her arms wrapped around herself in a tight embrace, watching Bobby cradling Shelly’s head in his lap. He was whispering to her. Laura tried not to listen.  
Finally, Bobby looked up at Laura, and they held each others’ gaze even though tears made it difficult to focus. And in that moment of silence they knew that the shame and regret burning a hole in their stomachs wouldn’t fade, not for a long while. Maybe it never would.  
But then Shelly jerked beneath Bobby’s hands, convulsing as if having a seizure. Bobby’s eyes widened and he immediately began checking her pulse, whispering “It’s okay baby, it’s okay, what’s wrong? What can I do…” He had to help her, had to bring her back.  
The flailing became more violent. Her back arched almost unnaturally, her limbs went so rigid Laura thought perhaps her bones would break. Shelly’s teeth gnashed together and her eyes rolled back in her head, the veins in her neck and forehead throbbing visibly. Bobby frantically attempted to calm her.  
“Laura, help!” he shouted, and Laura was jolted from her transfixed horror, coming forward and crouching over the seemingly possessed Shelly.  
And then, Shelly all of a sudden relaxed, going limp again. Bobby attempted to stammer out a plea, a curse, Laura couldn’t guess, but nothing came out. He looked up at Laura, desperate for answers, but she had none. Except…  
“Bobby,” Laura whispered, her eyes wide and pleading. “I need you to step away from Shelly--”  
Shelly’s eyes opened wide, and she let out a bloodcurdling scream. She jolted upright and grabbed Bobby by the shirt collar yanking him toward her. He tried to scramble away, but Shelly’s grip was tight. Her fingernails began to tear through the fabric. Her eyes were wide and panicked as she stared him in the face. “Help… Me…” she gasped, and then her face contorted, her mouth twisting into rows of fangs. She lunged at Bobby’s neck, but Laura grabbed her shoulders roughly, yanking her backwards and throwing her across the room. Shelly crashed into the china cabinet, sending shattered glass flying.  
While Shelly gathered herself, Laura snapped her attention back at Bobby. “Get my axe, it’s in the kitchen, by the backdoor!” she spat.  
Bobby looked terrified of Shelly, then as he comprehended Laura’s words, horrified of Laura. “No! Laura, this is Shelly, this isn’t… It’s Shelly, Laura!”  
“Not anymore!” Laura retorted, watching Shelly rise off the floor, picking at glass shards buried in her skin. Blood was dripping down Shelly’s arms. She looked at it, puzzled, then grinned, and dragged her tongue down the length of her forearm.  
“Just don’t fucking kill her!” Bobby shouted, his voice cracking.  
Shelly ran at Laura and began throwing wild punches, kicking her and snapping like a wild dog. Laura tried with difficulty to hold her back. “She’s-- Already… Dead!” Laura grunted between blows.  
Suddenly a loud thunk sounded throughout the living room, and Shelly dropped hard and heavy to the floor. Behind her stood Margaret, clicking her tongue and shaking her head, raised log in hand.  
“Each night I pray for a full night’s rest,” she sighed. “Tonight is not that night.”

Shelly slowly regained consciousness, immediately gasping in pain as feeling came back. Her stomach burned acidic, and she could taste blood, her gums split open and throbbing. Her head pounded so hard her vision was blurred. Tears filled her eyes, not from sadness but unbearable pain.  
When Shelly finally opened her eyes and focused, she saw Bobby and Laura standing across the room, the interior of a wooden shed, Laura gripping her axe and Bobby holding a gun with a shaky grip. The Log Lady peeked out from behind them. Without warning or comprehension, Shelly knew she had to kill them. She could hear their heartbeats pounding in her ears, and her mouth began to water. But when she tried to move, she found herself jerking at heavy chains, wrapped around her torso, her arms and legs. She was bound to a metal folding chair, and even her newfound strength couldn’t budge the tight restraints.  
Shelly spat at them, her face twisting with rage. “I’ll fucking kill you, you hear me? I’ll make you fuckers bleed...”  
Bobby swallowed hard, and approached Shelly cautiously. “Shelly, baby, this isn’t you--” he stammered, his face pale and drawn. “James, he uh, he turned you.”  
“You think I don’t know that you stupid piece of shit?” Shelly hissed. “I was there. And if you come any closer I’ll rip that frown off your fucking face.”  
“Did James say anything to you, before?” Laura asked, her voice low and monotone.  
Shelly laughed, a crazed giggle that set Bobby’s teeth on edge. “Oh, he said you sent him to protect me, from the evil vampires! I think that’s what you call irony…”  
Laura clenched her jaw, and looked away. Shelly saw this.  
“What, can’t bear to look at me, princess? I wanna fuck you with that axe handle, bitch.”  
“Stop it!” Bobby shouted. “Just shut up!” He raised his gun to her forehead, though his eyes were cloudy and his hand riddled with tremors.  
A slimy smile spread across Shelly’s lips. “You gonna shoot me, Bobby? Cause I’m not sweet little Shelly? Fuck you. Just when I get away from you fucking men, telling me what to do, making me what you want, another one shows up and turns me into a monster! All to hurt you, Bobby, and your little band of misfits. It’s almost funny, my goddamn murder wasn’t even about me!”  
With a sharp intake of breath, Bobby lowered the gun and turned to Laura. “We have to fix her,” he pleaded. “I don’t give a damn how, I can’t see her like this.”  
Laura grimaced, her gaze lingering on Shelly, who was spitting and hissing in their direction. “Well, James did mention the curse that allowed him to keep his soul…”  
Bobby threw his arms up like it was obvious. “We have to do it! No excuses! Wait, wait, I think I’m on the verge of an idea here--if we cure Shelly, why couldn’t we turn James back to normal too?”  
Laura stomach turned. She bit her lip and looked away. “I’ve thought about it…”  
“Then what’s the problem? It would solve everything--”  
“Because I don’t think he deserves a second chance, okay?!” Laura snapped. “After everything he did he deserves to go to hell in a fucking dustpan!”  
Bobby frowned and reached out to her shoulder. “Hey, okay, okay… But we have to help Shelly. I owe it to her. I should have been there, I should have protected her--”  
“Were you busy, Bobby?” Shelly taunted, curling her lip. “Here with the Miss Twin Peaks the town deserved, fucking the Homecoming Queen no doubt.”  
Bobby spun around to face Shelly and screamed “Shut up! Shut up, I’m sorry! I’m sorry Shelly!” His teeth were clenched so hard they rattled.  
Shelly’s eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open. “You really were fucking her! Jesus Christ, I was just joking! Leaving the love of your life to be ravaged while you get your rocks off with the Slayer. You really are going to hell, Bobby Briggs, and I’ll be happy to see you there.”  
Bobby’s face crumpled, and he shot a look at Laura, whispering gravely, “We have to help her,” before storming towards the door.  
Laura grabbed his arm before he could run out the door. "Let her go." She knew what it was like to lash out and then need to be alone. "We don't even know how to help her yet."  
"But I've gotta try," Bobby answered indignantly, jerking away from her. He slammed the door behind him.  
Was that how he looked back when he still thought he could save her, Laura wondered? Margaret put her hand on Laura's shoulder.  
"Come, child. Things lost could be returned and a new way of life could be just what she needed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cooper had laid awake all night, his smile gleaming in the dark. All was going as planned, he thought, watching the sun rise on a new day.  
He knew this because he could smell the heavy stench of death in the air. He could almost taste the garmonbozia on his tongue already.  
This was not the only reason Dale was smiling in anticipation. Today a miracle would occur. Annie would recover from her coma like Sleeping Beauty in a hospital bed.  
He closed his hand into a fist and when he opened it, a small silver ring with a tiny singular diamond was in his palm.  
"Will you marry me?," he mimicked, nauseated by the role he must play to achieve his goals. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Audrey Horne stood looking out the window of the Great Northern executive office. Her office.  
She relished the idea. It was though a fog had lifted from around the hotel, literally and figuratively. She could peer out at miles of the Ghostwood and in the far distance, mountains whose peaks she had never glimpsed.  
Sure, there were still some literal and figurative skeletons in the closet but it felt good to be the secret-maker and not the secret-keeper or finder. For a change, Audrey was on top and she would do everything in her power to stay that way. Audrey pressed a coffee cup to her lips and drank deeply. She sighed, turning her attention to an ever growing list of to-dos. She smiled, thinking, which to-do to do today? Something stupid her father had always said in morning.  
Audrey looked toward her desk, which was littered with artifacts she had found while combing the underground passageways. Decanters full of what may or may not be blood, old dusty tomes in languages she couldn’t understand, and bones tied to roses with a string of twine.  
She packed them all into a carpet bag and locked the office door behind her. 

The last person Donna expected to see visiting her bedside was Audrey Horne. Audrey entered with a smug grin on her face, closing the door behind her. “Well, this is… Nice. Very, um, sterile,” she sneered, in a poor attempt to be nice.  
Donna humored her. "Welcome to my prison cell. To what honor do I owe the visitation of the illustrious Ms. Audrey Horne?"  
"I've got all this weird stuff but somehow I think you'll appreciate it."  
She spread the contents of the carpet bag across the floor.  
Donna gasped. “Oh my god, thank you! Laura called me last night and mentioned this ritual that could save vampires... Or at least restore their souls. These could be just what I need. If only I could translate these tomes..."  
"Cool," said Audrey, not knowing how else to respond to such news.  
"Have you talked to Margaret yet? She speaks many of the dead languages."  
"Nope, you're the first to know. I thought this was more your expertise," Audrey said shrugging before adding,"or at least your area of interest." Audrey remembered the whole spectre debacle. She had dodged a bullet avoiding it.  
Audrey caught herself staring. Donna’s face was swollen and bruised, one eye welted shut. With effort, she redirected her gaze to the hospital tile floor.  
“Oh god, don’t be so embarrassed,” Donna scoffed. “I know, I look like shit, you don’t have to pretend I don’t.”  
Audrey grimaced, and it all spilled out at once: “Why would you want to save him? After what he did to you?”  
Now it was Donna’s turn to look away. She was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “Because I love him. And because I know that isn’t him, not really. And if I can help him find the real James again… I’d be a fool not to try.”  
Audrey nodded hesitantly, but couldn’t stop herself from adding. “But what if that is the real him?”  
Donna’s gaze went unfocused and she fell silent, before muttering, “I just know that the real me can’t let him go without a fight.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Across the hospital, a miracle was occurring. After weeks of darkness and dreaming, some beautiful and some horrific, Annie Blackburn was awaking. Her long dream of floating across a crystal lake in her night gown surrounded by beautiful pink rose petals ended.  
She could still smell the roses as she awoke, but soon the aroma was overtaken by the bitter dark smell of coffee grounds, and the slick chemical haze of hair gel.  
A rich voice rang in her ears.  
"Good morning, sleepy head," Dale Cooper sat next to her hospital bed, and she could imagine he had never left her side.  
She could hardly remember that cruel dark place she had visited before her dreams were of the lakeside as she gazed into his eyes, shimmering in the morning sun. His smile looked markedly different than ever before. His eyes were bright, glowing with something that wasn't there before.  
“Hello…” she muttered, rubbing her eyes, noticing the IVs and tubes coming out of her arms. “What happened? I remember… A man taking me, and then going to another place. An evil place.”  
"Shh. We're beyond that now. Didn't you know I'd save you?"  
"I wasn't so sure of anything when the lights cut at the pageant,” she answered drowsily. “I dreamed of you,” she added, offering a weak smile to Coop.  
His grin spread wider, and his eyes closed contentedly; “And you were in my thoughts always, Annie.”  
He offered her a hand, and she grasped it weakly. He was cold, colder than she remembered.  
“I have something to ask you,” Dale smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake, and I can’t stand waiting any longer.”  
Annie’s eyes grew wide, and her stomach jumped. When Dale pulled the small velvet box from his trouser pocket, she began to cry. 

Dale closed the door gently behind him, leaving Annie sleeping peacefully in her room. Just as he entered the hallway, he saw Audrey Horne round the corner. She looked at him with a mixture of disgust and fear, flinching when they made eye contact. He clicked his teeth at her predatorily.  
She shuddered and rushed passed in haste, concealing her fright by looking away from him. However, he shouted after her.  
“Audrey! Is the Northern available for rent? I have a large celebration to plan. A wedding, in fact.”  
Audrey froze, and turned slowly towards him, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a hard line. “I know who you are,” she mouthed in barely more than a whisper.  
Dale raised his eyebrows and chuckled darkly. “Do you now. If you really think so, you should be running.”  
Audrey’s hands began to shake and her throat went dry, but she managed to stammer out, “You were so good once. But don’t think for a second that’ll stop us from sending you back to hell.”  
Cooper clucked his tongue and shook his head. “You bluff like a champ, Audrey, but your affection betrays you.” He stepped toward her threateningly, and she took a step back. “Your Agent is screaming in a deep dark hole, and no one can hear him, no one can save him. Especially not a silly,” step “little,” step, “girl.”  
"And your confidence betrays you. Laura Palmer has always heard the secrets of this town and stared down your darkest traps. If you think you're made of stronger stuff than us, you haven't been paying very close attention." she parried, pressing a painted fingernail deep into his chest.  
Audrey whirled around and didn't look back until the hospital doors crashed behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Laura sat with her arms crossed, eyelids drooping. She jerked herself back to alert, finding Shelly staring back at her with a demented grin. Laura hadn’t been getting much sleep as of late, what with the near constant traumas that were befalling her. And now she was on guard duty, though sleep was itching at the inside of her eyelids.  
“Oh sweetie,” Shelly cooed falsely, “you look so tired. You should really get some rest. I’ll be fine out here by myself, don’t worry.” Sickly hatred bled through her voice even as her grin grew wider.  
Laura rubbed her eyes. “Not a chance, babe,” she sighed, grabbing the mug of lukewarm coffee on the old saw horse next to the rickety shed door.  
Shelly shook her head. “Why are you doing this to me Laura? Why are you punishing me for something your demonic boyfriend did?  
Laura frowned. She knew Shelly baiting her, trying to make her feel guilty enough to loosen the chains. “I’m not punishing you,” Laura muttered. “I’m protecting you from yourself--”  
“Oh, BULLSHIT!” Shelly screeched, her eyes flashing yellow. “It’s for your own good, Shelly, I’m just trying to protect you, Shelly…” she mimicked in a nauseating, childish voice. “Yeah, where the fuck have I heard that before? You’re all the same--Leo, Bobby, James, you. You beat me, you fuck me, you kill me, you chain me up in a fucking shed.” Shelly bit her tongue and spit blood at Laura’s feet.  
Laura’s brow furrowed. “If anything, you and I are on the same side. I know what it's like for someone to break so you bad you don’t recognize yourself anymore. I know what it’s like to be made a monster.” Her voice became softer and softer as she spoke, until finally it disappeared into nothing.  
Shelly’s mouth contorted into an exaggerated frown. “Awwwww, my soul sister,” she retorted, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “We women have to stick together right? Except one of us is chained to a chair and one of us is guarding the door.”  
Laura averted her eyes and shook her head.  
“C’mon Laura, if you really were on my side you’d let me hunt that bastard down and rip out his fucking esophagus.”  
Sipping her coffee, Laura shook her head. “You can’t control yourself. I’ll kill him soon enough.”  
“Anything other than right this second is not soon enough.” And then Shelly had an idea. She and Bobby used to watch the Saturday night horror movie on channel 3 when Leo was on the road, and she vaguely remembered cuddling on the couch with the original Dracula flickering in the background. Bela Lugosi’s ghostly figure with his right hand raised, suspended in air, his eyes intense and beckoning to young would be victims. That influence had always intrigued Shelly, and she laughed when Bobby imitated him, staring at her and whispering “I vant to suck your blood,” in a heavy comical Transylvanian accent. She smiled at the thought. She wondered how true that scene really was.  
Shelly fell silent suddenly, and Laura glanced towards the woman chained to the chair, confused at this change after moments ago she was spitting and cursing. Shelly caught Laura in her stare, and soon Laura was lost. Shelly’s face was tilted downward, her brows heavy with two glistening, mesmerizing eyes peeking out from under.  
Laura couldn’t move, as if she was caught in a spotlight, until Shelly started whispering, too soft to hear, but Laura immediately began following her commands. She slowly approached Shelly and began unlocking her chains, until Shelly stood and the metal rings clattered to the floor. Shelly stretched and smiled, turning to Laura, who remained dead eyed and slack jawed. Shelly sighed, and gently grasped Laura by the shoulders.  
“Laura, Laura, Laura,” Shelly I muttered, her gaze creeping up Laura’s unprotected neck. But Shelly shook her head, and kissed Laura gently on the forehead. “Get some sleep.”

Shelly took a deep breath as she slowly pulled the door closed behind her. The air had never smelled so sweet and she had never felt hungrier.  
But now was not the time for feasting, it was time for retribution.  
Shelly slunk through the thick underbrush of the wilderness surrounding the town, keeping vigilant. Eventually, after maybe an hour of sticking to the shadows, she heard a rustling on the other side of a nest of trees.  
A woman was whimpering, and her screams smothered as if a hand was clapped over her mouth. Grunting and heavy breathing accompanied her cries, and soon Shelly could see the scene from behind a tree trunk, illuminated by moonlight.  
James was wrestling with a young woman, dragging her across the floor of the forest. She was struggling, kicking, flailing, but he ignored her. Eventually, James let her go and sighed, as she attempted to scramble away through the dead leaves. With an eye roll, James muttered, “Oh c’mon, you’re just making this harder on yourself…” With a lightning quick movement and an inhuman growl, James pounced, breaking the woman’s neck with his bite. She went silent, and her shallow breaths grew more erratic, until they finally stopped.  
Shelly stepped out into the open, clapping sarcastically. “9/10. A little sloppy, but it did the job.”  
James reeled around and lunged at her, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her against the tree. Then recognition dawned. “Shelly! So good to see you. If you would have given me a bit of warning, I would have picked up her friend for you,” he smirked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the corpse.  
Shelly peeked over. “Would you mind if I finished her off? I haven’t eaten tonight.”  
James raised his eyebrows. “Be my guest,” he conceded, grinning with pride. “How’s undeath treating you?” he inquired, watching Shelly greedily lick up the remaining blood. She had never tasting anything better. And she immediately wanted more.  
She flipped her hair and stood back up to join James, answering “Never been better.”  
James cocked an eyebrow. “Glad to hear it. Ya know, I was afraid there’d be some bad blood between us, after the whole ‘me murdering you’ thing. But you gotta understand, it was nothing personal.”  
Shelly carefully disguised the rage boiling beneath the surface, smiling. “Nothing personal.”  
James laughed, “I can only imagine how those annoying do gooders felt when they found you on the welcome mat. Did you end up taking any of them out?”  
Shelly shrugged. “Nah, they overpowered me. Chained me up in the shed and starved me for a few days. But I worked some magic and ended up breaking out. All by myself, if I may add.”  
"Don't get cocky. You're practically a newborn. Just watch and learn, baby. Watch and learn."  
Shelly smiled, even as she thought about ripping his face off and eating it. That was the plan, after all, but after seeing him take out that woman, Shelly knew a fight wasn’t the right strategy--she would almost certainly have her ass handed to her and be put in the ground for good. For now, she had to earn his trust, and wait until the time was right. James was never smart, and losing his soul didn’t mean he had gained a brain.  
“Well!” James announced, clapping his hands together. “What do you say we hit up that boyfriend of yours and have a nice late night buffet?”  
A pang ripped through Shelly’s stomach. Sure, she was heartless now, but she still had memories. Fresh memories, that she hadn’t had a chance to lose yet. Memories of her and Bobby that gave her pause.  
But not much.  
James noticed her momentary hesitation, all the same.  
“What, you still got eyes for that numbskull?” he asked, half joking, half judging her reaction carefully.  
Shelly scoffed at him, answering. “Of course not. I’m just saving him for later. For something that really hurts.”  
James laughed darkly. “Yeah, that’s my girl.”  
Shelly sneered, but kept her mouth shut. Soon she’ll show him she was nobody’s girl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna awoke to a soft knocking at her door.  
Drowsily rolling over she imagined it could be James or Laura sneaking about to see her in secret. But as she opened her eyes she remembered she was still in the hospital and that James was some evil asshole now.  
Whoever was outside the door was getting impatient as they began fiddling with the doorknob.  
A simple clink of the lock and the door glided open.  
Audrey smiled as she poked a bobby pin back into her hair.  
"I came to tuck you in and tell you a bedtime story."  
"Do you have another backpack full of weird stuff to dump on me because that's all people seem to be doing lately."  
"Oh shut up! You love it!"  
"You know how I treasure our girl time," Donna rolled her eyes.  
Audrey let out a short huff and her face shifted to serious.  
"Let me start again. I came here to ask a favor." She bit her lip. "And it's not even a favor for me. But you're the only one who can help."  
"Of course, what is it," Donna asked doe-eyed.  
“Word on the street is James has taken another victim. And worse yet, um, this isn't confirmed or anything--I haven't talked to Laura yet-- but, it seems that it’s Shelly. But, worse than that she's undead."  
Donna squirmed and they sat in tense silence for a moment before she regained her composure. “How do you know?” she asked, her voice shaking a bit.  
“You hear a lot of things running a hotel and casino,” Audrey answered. “Especially when more and more of the clientele don’t leave their room when the sun is up. I’m going to stake them eventually, but it’s nice to pick up some intell. Especially since there are still too many to stake by myself."  
Donna sat up in bed. "What can I do?"  
"Well, you're gonna need to make your little recipe a double batch."  
"Okay but I'm gonna need a lot of help. Do you think you could go to the cabin and pick up some stuff from Margaret?"  
"Yeah I--, "Audrey trailed off.  
There was the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway.  
When the footsteps had passed the room, Audrey peaked her head out.  
She gasped.  
Donna pleaded,"Audrey, tell me. What is it?"  
Slack-jawed Audrey responded, dumbfounded,"Annie is leaving the hospital. Cooper whispered something to her.'"  
She peeked out again.  
Annie was moving more fluidly than she had in a long time, especially since most people thought she would have to learn how to walk again on newly mended atrophied legs. But all the color was drained from Annie's face. She somehow looked sicklier than ever and she coughed every few steps as she leaned against Coop for support.  
Audrey turned back to Donna. "She looks like some sort of cancer patient. It's like she's been poisoned or something. I'm gonna go follow them."  
Donna scribbled down a list quickly on a napkin.  
"Take this. Be safe Audrey."  
Audrey mouthed "always," as she closed the door behind her but when she went out into the hallway, Dale and Annie were nowhere to be found.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura didn’t know how long she had been asleep, but she did know that she didn’t dream. For the first time in as long as she could remember, there were no nightmares. She slowly regained consciousness to find Bobby standing over her, shaking her, repeating her name. “Wake up, Laura! LAURA!”  
“I’m up, I’m up, okay…” she mumbled, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She was on the floor of the shed, and the sun was shining through the wood slat walls.  
“Where’s Shelly?!” Bobby shouted frantically, his eyes wide and his hands shaking.  
Sure enough, when Laura turned toward the center of the room she found the rusted folding chair sitting empty, chains and padlocks in a pile on the dirt floor. “Oh, no, no, no!” Laura said as she scrambled to her feet.  
“What happened Laura?” Bobby asked, his heart beating out of his chest while he paced the room, running his hands roughly through his hair.  
“We were talking, and she was asking me to let her go, and of course I said no, but then she looked at me, and…” Laura stammered. “And I can’t remember anything else until now. It’s like a blank space in my memory, like it was erased,” Laura answered simply, the catastrophic nature of the situation dawning on her.  
“So what,” Bobby asked, trying to keep the volume of his voice steady but failing, “she knocked you out? Attacked you?”  
Laura shook her head, “No, I would have wounds, or at least bruises... “  
Suddenly he looked at her with a cold, serious fury. “Laura, don’t fucking lie to me. Are you on coke again? Is that what this is about?”  
Laura flinched, and then set her mouth in a spiteful frown. “No, and fuck you for asking. How dare you even--”  
“Don’t act like it’s not a valid question! Laura, you used to have the biggest habit I’ve ever seen, I don’t know if old habits die hard!” He was breathing heavily and chewing on the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. His brain was in full panic mode, making wild accusations he never would voice normally.  
Laura fixed him with a glare. “I. Am. Not. On. Coke. And you wasting time asking me that is more time Shelly is out there terrorizing the fucking town! She's probably gunning for your ass after that stunt we pulled!"  
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean it, I’m just…” Bobby shook his head. “What else could have happened?”  
A memory flashed in Laura’s mind. “When she was telling me about vamps, Margaret said that some have the power of suggestion, they can put ideas in your head and force you to act on them…”  
“Like mind control? Are you fucking kidding me?” Bobby asked, laughing, more out of desperation than humor. “Telepathic vampires, silly me, what else could it have been?”  
Laura sighed. “The point is, Shelly is loose, possibly with the power of mind control. Which I admit, sounds like a fucking nightmare.” Laura trailed off, but then raised her eyebrows. “One thing she seemed obsessed with was killing James. That’s all she would talk about, all the ways she would make him pay for turning her. So, best case scenario, she’s out there hunting him. We have a common enemy, so maybe…”  
“Maybe she’ll do our job for us,” Bobby finished, lighting up a cigarette with shaking fingers. “That is if she doesn’t drain half the town in the process.”

That night, Laura, Bobby and Audrey were all camping out in Margaret’s living room, safe in a house protected by magic and each other. Audrey was visibly miffed to be away from the Northern, her new pride and joy, but Laura insisted.  
“It’s almost like a sleepover,” Audrey stated sarcastically. “Except I was never allowed to have sleepovers, so… It’s like what I imagine a sleepover to be like... " she trailed but added,"but thanks for the invite. Shelly or James could be coming for any one of us."  
Nobody was in the mood for talking.  
Audrey changed the subject.  
"Bobby, I went to see Donna. She wants to save Shelly's soul since she's already trying to help James."  
Bobby forced something akin to a grin and raised his eyebrows. “That’s kind of her,” he muttered quietly.  
Laura smiled too, "That's Donna's shtick. She just wants to save us all from ourselves.”  
“Yeah, remember how that worked out last time though?” Bobby interjected bitterly, his eyes glassy and far away.  
Audrey felt uncomfortable and excused herself. "I need to talk to Margaret. I'll be back in a flash,” she grinned forcibly and curtseyed, attempting to lighten the mood through sheer will.  
Margaret was upstairs meditating when Audrey found her.  
"Come here, child," she called without opening her eyes.  
Audrey sat down next to her, confused but obliging.  
"Close your eyes and breath slowly, as though your spirit were leaving your body and then coming back to you."  
Audrey made a face of dismay but followed along.  
"Do you know that your internal energy is blocked from going beyond your solar plexus?"  
Audrey didn't know what a solar plexus even was so she said nothing but kept breathing.  
"What do you need, Audrey?" questioned Margaret, still breathing deeply.  
"Donna needs your help with a spell to give vampires their souls."  
The Log Lady opened her eyes abruptly. Her hazel eyes gleamed in the dim room. "That's some serious magic. Does she know the cost of such a spell? The resources necessary?" 

Downstairs in the living room, Bobby sighed. “So are we gonna talk about this, or what?”  
Laura shrugged her shoulders defeatedly. “Or what,” she muttered, almost a dare.  
“I’m serious, Laura,” Bobby retorted, in a voice that said he wasn’t in the mood to be teased. “I have this guilt, that… That’s it my fault, you know? If I hadn’t insisted on tagging along to the Road House, if we hadn’t stepped into that trap, if we hadn’t--”  
“Fucked on a pool table surrounded by dead bodies?” Laura interjected darkly.  
“--gotten carried away,” Bobby finished, reproachfully.  
“So you regret it?” Laura asked accusingly.  
Bobby paused, looking at her with his brows furrowed and his mouth hanging open in confusion. “No!” he answered, offended. “I don’t fucking regret it, Laura, I just wish… I wish we hadn’t been so stupid. I wish James didn’t know us so fucking well and I wish we didn’t fall for it…” he trailed off and sighed, getting up to pace the room. “I just can’t shake this feeling, that if I hadn’t been so stupid and weak--”  
“Well if it makes you feel any better, it didn’t mean anything,” Laura cut him off, without even looking at him.  
Bobby stopped pacing, and looked at her. “Don’t do that. Don’t, not again.”  
Laura finally turned to him. “Don’t what again, Bobby?”  
“Don’t pretend like you don’t care about anything!” he burst out. “Don’t act like you can’t be fucking bothered to love anything!”  
“You’re mad because I don’t love you?” Laura asked, a bitter edge to her voice.  
“No, I’m not…” Bobby spat defeatedly, his face burning with embarrassment. “It’s just, you always do this! The first time we slept together I told you I loved you, and you laughed in my fucking face. Then I apologized, and you acted like that made it worse! And that’s how it’s always been, Laura, you act like caring about anyone is a weakness, that you can’t afford to let anyone in. Like you’re too scared to even let anyone try to love you!”  
Laura went silent for a moment, then muttered, “So you’re saying you love me?”  
Flustered, Bobby answered “What I’m saying is, you don’t have to do that anymore. You don’t have to be afraid of hurting people anymore, not when we’re out here bleeding voluntarily for you.”  
Laura barked out a laugh that didn’t reach her cold eyes. “Pretty sure Shelly didn’t sign a release waiver.”  
“See, there it is again!” Bobby interjected with his good arm raised in accusation. “Jesus, I’m sorry I brought it up. Do me a favor and let me take the fall for that one. Hell, or James, the only one who’s really responsible for this shitshow. Spread some of the fucking guilt around for once!”  
“Except I’m the fucking Slayer!” Laura shouted back, silencing him for the first time. “It’s my job to protect everyone, no one else’s! And if I don’t everyone we know will die, everyone you’ve ever loved will die! And when I let myself be normal for one goddamn minute, whether that’s letting James live or fucking you, someone gets put in the hospital, someone gets murdered, someone gets turned into a monster. So tell me again how I need to let people love me, how I need to let you all help me, when I can never let my guard down, ever! Everyone around me gets hurt and it’s all my fault, Bobby! I can never let anyone mean anything to me, cause it hurts too much when I have to bury their body. And eventually, I’ll have to bury all of you.”  
She got up and stormed passed him, not even looking in his direction as he stood silent, attempting to find the worse and failing. When she reached the top of the stairs, she stared down at him and spat “That’s why it didn’t mean anything. That’s why it never will,” before heading into her bedroom and slamming the door.  
Suddenly the phone rang, shattering the silence Laura left in her wake. Bobby sighed, and picked up the receiver roughly. “Yeah, who is it?” he grumbled.  
“The old cemetery, near Hollings Grove,” a voice answered, dark and smoky.  
Bobby’s eyes widened. “Shelly? Oh my god, Shelly where are you? Shelly, please come back, it’s not safe--”  
“That’s where you’ll find him,” she continued, as if he had never spoken. “He sleeps in the mausoleum, the big one in the center. That’s all I’ll say.”  
Bobby nodded frantically. “T-thanks…”  
“And Bobby?” she interjected, her voice smooth and alluring, but dangerous. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna lay dozing in her hospital bed, an old spell book open on her lap. The constant hum and beeps of the medical equipment droned on. Donna’s nose twitched, and her eyes fluttered open. She felt the cool night breeze on her face and shivered. She glanced across the room, and found the window open, the sterile plain curtains blowing gently. She did not remember opening the window.  
Donna’s spine stiffened, and the hairs on her arms stood up. Her breathing became shallow, and when she turned, she found a large figure standing the corner of the room, draped in shadows. He was smiling.  
His pointed teeth glimmered as he spoke. "Now, babe, I'm not here on a personal vendetta, I just know how to get my message across."  
He leaned over her menacingly but Donna raised her arms and focused her entire willpower on mustering the energy to use her magic.  
A white light enveloped the room and James crashed hard against the hospital wall.  
“Why are you here?” Donna demanded. “Don’t get me wrong, I will fucking send you back to hell, be sure of that.”  
James gathered himself, grinning and cracking his aching neck into realignment. “Jesus, Donna, I don’t remember you liking it rough…”  
She began to mutter words under her breath, and he raised his hands in surrender. “Hey hey, no need for the bad juju. I came here to apologize.”  
“Yeah? I’m not in the mood to hear it,” Donna spat.  
James feigned disappointment, whining “Oh, c’mon, Donna, what’s a guy got to do? I didn’t mean to hurt ya,” he chuckled. “I meant to kill ya… So, honestly, my bad.”  
He laughed again,"Sorry that came out all wrong. What I really meant was that I just needed to start feeling like my old self again and really, my quality of life is so much better so thank you. Going soulless is truly the best antidepressant around. No feelings-- no feeling bad."  
Donna was shaking, trembling, and he inched ever closer. “If you take one more step I will--”  
“What? Show off your mastery of Latin 101? I’m quaking in my boots.”  
"Well, I don't believe anyone invited you here and if they did, unknowingly, I hereby revoke that invitation."  
James’ eyes grew wide, and he began convulsing. He moved towards the window, involuntarily. Donna began to smile, until he grinned back, and stopped. “Ya know what’s so great about public health facilities, Donna? They’re open to the public. So nice try, but no dice.”  
"Sorry, James, visitor hours are over." She snapped her fingers and they ignited a purple spark as she whispered to herself a banishing spell.  
Suddenly, James seemed to be dragged towards the window by an invisible force, for real this time. As he went, struggling all the way, he looked Donna dead in the eye and spat “I can kill you any time I want, you just know that. The fun is in making you wait.”  
“Anytime you want babe, I’ll be ready.” Donna hissed, watching until he disappeared out the open window.  
She slowly rose out of bed in her hospital gown, walked calmly over to the window, and closed it. When she turned, tears were in her eyes. She squeezed them shut, forcing the tears out, focusing with all her might. She was invincible.  
A pink light flashed in the room and Donna's bruises and broken ribs were mended instantaneously. Blank-faced, Donna left the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna barely said a word to her parents when she left the house that morning except to assure them she really was healed. She didn't know what to say to anyone anymore, least of all them. For all they knew, James was still out on the road.  
She spent the better part of the day collecting herbs and flowers in a dewy field by the lake. She was furious. She felt betrayed, but she didn't know why.  
Donna kept trying to remind herself that her James didn't do this and he didn't deserve the blame but it didn't make the hurt go away.  
Either way, she thought, plucking the petals off of a large purple chicory flower, she was used to shouldering the heavier burden in their relationship. She knew she could save him. If it could be done at all, she would do it. And yet, Donna wondered how long it might take her to trust him again.  
She was shearing off the blooms of a monstrous wild rose bush when a thorn grazed her wrist. A bead of crimson raced to her elbow. She gritted her teeth and decided to abandon the remaining roses. She really only needed one more ingredient to make this work but she had been putting it off all day. Hopefully Margaret had remembered, she thought as she slammed her car door closed.  
When she got there, it was nearing dusk. She heard the clamor of a table being set as she neared the cabin door. Margaret must have heard her car pull up because the door swung open before she could even knock.  
The smells of a rich vegetable soup filled the air.  
Donna gave an awkward half-hearted smile. They both knew why she was there.  
"Would you please eat with us Donna before you get any further into this spell? You'll need your energies up for this. Nourish the body, nurture the soul."  
"Yeah, um I actually haven't eaten all day, to tell the truth," Donna muttered.  
Laura sat across the table from her, polite but silent. Maybe she knew Donna was going to do this no matter what.  
Margaret, on the other hand, was surprisingly talkative but clearly overwhelmed with anxiety. “Your spirit is strong and your intentions pure, but this is a heavy burden to shoulder, even for the most experienced witch,” she cautioned.  
Donna sighed and nodded, keeping her eyes downcast into her cup of cloudy tea. “But if I don’t do it, nobody will.”  
The plan was to strike at dawn, when James would be the weakest. He would be cornered in his mausoleum, and now they knew Shelly would be on their side… As far as Laura knew. She was having a hard time trusting vampires lately.  
As the night wore on, Margaret and Donna spoke tersely by the fire, examining their supplies and coaching pronunciation. When midnight approached, they headed to the door with a water basin.  
“Got some laundry to do?” Laura smirked while sharpening her stakes. It was her attempt to hide the violent tremors in her hands.  
Donna smiled sadly. “Charging moonwater. The spell can’t work without it.”  
"The water only needs one more night in the full moon to be fully charged," said Margaret nodding.  
The hours stretched into the morning, and one by one the gang arrived. Audrey couldn’t suppress her theatrical yawns, and Bobby responded with the appropriate eye rolling. He was burning through cigarettes, leaving a pile of butts on the porch. Every time a tree swayed in the midnight breeze, or a faun flicked its tail between tree branches, Bobby’s gaze scanned the forest. Shelly was out there somewhere.  
"There's only one last step to prepare for the spell," Donna stated bleakly, when they were all gathered in the living room. An hour before dawn.  
"Are you sure want to do this? You might not have to with me assisting you." Margaret looked concerned.  
Donna reached into her bag and pulled out her athame and a small black glass vial. "I have to be sure this will work."  
She winced as she cut a deep line across her palm with the blade. Deep red blood gushed from the wound and she squeezed it over the vial. When five or so ounces had gathered in it, she placed a cork in the top. Audrey raised her eyebrows in disbelief and shot sidelong glances around the room. Bobby wasn’t even looking. Nothing surprised him anymore, and he hated that.  
Laura rushed to the kitchen to find something to bandage her with.  
"Is blood magic really something you feel comfortable with, Donna? Hurting yourself for the cause? I had no idea...," she trailed off. The whole point of this was that Donna would never have to be hurt by James again, and here she was, sacrificing again. For him. Laura felt her cheeks burn hot.  
“Why does everyone treat me like this fragile little doll who isn’t capable of making her own decisions?” Donna snapped. “I mean, thanks for looking out, but this is my way of fighting. I can’t stake vamps or shoot people or seduce them--or whatever it is Audrey does--”  
“Hey!" Audrey interjected.  
Donna ignored her. “This is what I bring to the table. I’m the one who got her face bashed in, so I’m the one who gets to decide whether or not I’m a victim, or whether or not he’s worth saving. So please, just let me do this, for once. Let me do what I’m good at.”  
Laura hesitated, then nodded, and pulled Donna in for a hug. No matter what Laura thought, this was Donna’s choice. Sometimes you can’t protect the ones you love from other people, much less themselves. She knew that best of all.  
"I've gotta go now, Donna. Good luck. I love you and I'll see you...after."  
"Thanks Laura. Be safe. Bring them back to us whole. I want to save our friends. They seem vicious now but they don't deserve what's happened to them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura, Audrey, and Bobby all crouched amid the dead overgrown bushes surrounding the Hollings Grove cemetery. Unlike the town graveyard where Laura was buried, that was covered in bright decorations, the graves kept clean and tidy, this cemetery had been in disrepair since the early 1900s. Most of the graves were cracked and worn, some the names faded with erosion and age. Some graves didn't bear any name, just a symbol and a date of a mysterious death. Laura felt the stillness of the night evaporate around her as the sky lightened from dark plum and navy to a soft lilac, and the quiet coos of birds welcomed the dawn. James wasn’t the only one that felt at home among the dead.  
His mausoleum of choice was a solid obsidian cube with a sealed rock door made into the shape of a dozen ravens in flight. A small skull marked the center of the entrance. Unlike the other fixtures of the cemetery, it has aged well, as through some dark force had protected it through the years.  
“So we gonna do this or what?” Bobby asked, reluctantly pocketing his revolver, chains dangling across his shoulder with a heavy open padlock at one end.  
Audrey didn't wait for an answer. She hurried, low, across the graveyard, approaching the mausoleum, the others following. She began feeling the crease where the door met it's frame, searching for a weak point where it could be pried open. She slipped a crowbar out of her backpack and slid it between two sheets of rock. Audrey nodded at Laura, who kicked the end of the tool, hard. The door cracked in half.  
Inside the mausoleum, Shelly saw splinters of sunlight spiderwebbing across the floor. She seemed to have been standing guard for the her sire reluctantly. She merely moved to the side, her mouth a small tight line. She slipped into a crevice, between two coffins, and disappeared into a small underground passage. Her job was done, as far as she was concerned. Laura will take care of James, Shelly grinned in the darkness.  
Donna was lighting purple candles in a clockwise fashion. At the center of her witch's circle a cauldron of blessed water bubbles intermingled with lily and holly. She threw her powder of crushed bay laurel, wildrose, and chicory across the candle fire and a gray mist enveloped her. On the edges of the circle, Margaret chanted pacing with a burning branch of yew. Donna felt a stirring in her chest, and her breath became short. The magic was manifesting within her. She rose from the ground, her skin glowing a soft silver color.  
James’ eyes popped open, and he sat up on his granite stone resting place. He watched with his arms crossed, eyebrow cocked, as Laura and the gang demolished the entrance, and climbed in on top of the obsidian rubble. James sucked his teeth and hissed, “You know it’s not polite to visit so late. And without even the courtesy to call!”  
With a bang crack James fell back, then stood back up, holding his ribs. He was bleeding. Laura looked back at Bobby, holding his smoking revolver. Bobby shrugged. “He’s already getting on my nerves.”  
James sighed, wiping the blood on his palm on his leather jacket. “Ya know? I never fucking liked you.”  
With that, he rushed at Bobby, fangs bared, and grabbed him by the throat. Laura swung her axe down on James’ arms, leaving them sliced open and bleeding.  
Bobby gasped for air. “Too close for comfort, Laur?!”  
“Sorry,” she muttered. “And you’re welcome.”  
Audrey caught James as he reeled backwards, growling. She jabbed the crowbar into the small of his back.  
Bobby threw the mess of chains over James and Laura caught the other end pulling the slack tight around him.  
However, James only shrugged, and grimaced as he pulled hard against the chain's center. It burst apart. Disconnected links clinked against the stone floor.  
Audrey frowned, eyes wide. “Well shit.”  
“You guys,” James teased, “I swear you guys don’t seem to get the whole vampire concept. It’s like you’re surprised I’m gonna kick your asses.”  
He delivered a punishing blow to Audrey’s sternum, knocking her out cold as she hit the ground. "Laura, you're my bitch, and you're marked for death. And if I don't kill you, I know a couple people who might.” He picked up Bobby by the scruff and tossed him across the room. Bobby collided with the rock wall, hard, leaving a faint trail of blood down the wall as he fell.  
“I just wanna win the race to the finish, Laura,” James grinned. “You're only a trophy to me."  
Laura let out a scream of rage and launched herself at him, throwing punches and kicks, one stake in each of her curled fists..  
Donna poured the vial of blood into the violently bubbling cauldron. As she did the room turned black. Her pupils emanated a yellow light. With a whoosh of wind, all the air was sucked out of the room, leaving a snatched gasp of silence. Donna whispered a single word.  
Laura's stake plunged deep into James's chest as she let out a feral howl. James face went blank for a moment, as in disbelief. His eyes filled with torment. A golden light shone out of him, like a beacon from within, but he still fell apart. In the last moment, he looked Laura in the eyes, and she knew he was James again. He smiled, and whispered, “Tell Donna I’m sorry.” as he became mere dust forevermore.  
Laura stood above the remains at her feets, heaving breaths with tears in her eyes.  
"Shit," Audrey let out, rising from the floor and rubbing the spot where James had punched her. "You killed--"  
She stopped talking. A faint whimper came from the opening in the floor of the room.  
"Shelly... Baby?" Bobby questioned in disbelief. There was no answer.  
In some underground cavern on the other side of town, Shelly was convulsing, cradling herself and crying on the cold damp earth floor. She had been blinded by a light that seemed to come from inside rather than out, and debilitating pain wracked her body. Slowly, it all came flooding back. Bobby. Leo. James... Laura. Suddenly, she remembered how to feel, and remembered how painful it is to bear the weight of a soul.


End file.
